NOT even the pull of an Olympic Games on home soil could convince gymnast Claire Wright not to throw in the towel following her Beijing disappointment.

The 29-year-old, from Sandhurst, who has 51 World and European medals, missed out on a final berth in the trampolining event in Beijing last Friday.

Wright was in sixth place after the first round but slipped down to tenth place overall with a total score of 63.00 to miss out on the final, although she did qualify for a reserve spot for the medal round.

“That was my last ever competition, so I wish I had made the final. But that said I’ve had a great experience,” she said. “I got through my routines so obviously I am pleased with that but I am disappointed to miss out on the final. Not everything went to plan, though, the beginning was good but I made a mistake and that cost me.”

Wright admitted she had thought hard about continuing her gruelling training regime for one last tilt at an Olympic medal in London. But after much consideration, and her below-par showing in Beijing, Wright admitted her mind was made up once and for all.
 
“I am going to stop after this Olympics and start a new career so I won’t be around for 2012,” said Wright. “I really wanted to get through to the last eight and experience the buzz and excitement of a final but it just wasn’t to be.
“I think Team GB had the strongest team we’ve ever had and I’m just proud to have been involved."

Wright said she is aware of the importance of the Olympic Games for her sport, which otherwise receives little media attention. “We don’t get very much television coverage. We did for the World Cup Final a couple of years ago and it was really well appreciated.
 
“I think that if we can try and promote the sport as much as possible people will start enjoying watching it on TV — hopefully London can continue that media attention.”

Camberley’s Karina Bryant admitted she had left herself down after her first-round defeat to Vanessa Zambotti completed a miserable week for British judo.

The GB team were expected to come away with at least one medal but  leave Beijing empty handed as Bryant, the last British hope to fall, lost by two yukos to Mexico’s Zambotti in the over-78kg category.
 
There was to be no second chance in the repechage after Zambotti’s defeat to defending champion Maki Tsukada.

And 29-year-old Bryant insists there are no excuses for her early exit. She said: “Going into the bout I felt like I hadn’t left any stones unturned. I wouldn’t have changed anything about my approach and I came in feeling very strong mentally and physically.

“I’m very frustrated — more disappointed than anything, because I didn’t perform to my full potential.

“Zambotti made things very difficult, but I should have been on better form. I still feel pretty raw and I will be asking myself for a long time what went wrong. If I had fought to my full potential, she wouldn’t have given me any problems.
“Judo is physically and mentally hard. I have been lucky, I have had a great support team around me, but I am sure they are just as disappointed as I am.”

Four-time European champion Bryant has now left three Olympics without a medal to show for her efforts and the last time any Brit was made the podium was for Kate Howey’s silver eight years ago.

With bright prospects Craig Fallon and Euan Barton also falling by the wayside, British judo chief Karen Roberts has promised a judo shake-up.

She said: “It’s bitterly disappointing because we had seven judo players who I firmly believe had medal chances. They were well prepared and they all gave 100% but it just didn’t happen on the day.
 
“I can’t really say that anything specific went wrong but there was inconsistent refereeing and even a major power like Russia came away without a medal and they spend 10 million euros on their programme. However, I don’t wish to harp on about that.
 
“The next six months are critical in getting the coaching and the athletes right for the next four-year cycle.”

Lloyds TSB is the proud first partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to 2012. For more information visit www.LloydsTSB.com/London2012.