Mitchell Fifth in Floor Final

WAIS-AIS scholarship holder Lauren Mitchell finished fifth in floor final at the 2011 Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo.

Mitchell received an eleventh hour call-up to the final, having earlier missed qualification and being listed as first reserve. A foot injury to a Romanian competitor opened the door for the 2010 world champion, who competed second up in the eight gymnast final.

Mitchell scored 14.733 for her routine, which was sculpted by a series of stunning tumbles and highlighted by her signature triple wolf turn. A slight mishap on her dance leap was met with a small score reduction which relegated her from medal calculations.

The surprise of the final came from fellow substitute Kseniia Afanseva of Russia, who replaced her teammate Victoria Komova and won gold with beautiful artistry and a score of 15.133. Silver went to China’s Sui who scored 15.066 and bronze to Raisman of the USA on 15.000.

Although relinquishing her world title, Mitchell produced a highly impressive world championship display in Tokyo, which most importantly helped Australia qualify for next year’s London Olympic Games.