OLYMPICS LONDON 2012: Jubilant Jones overwhelmed by home support

By Sean-Paul Doran, Sportsbeat, London 2012

GREAT Britain’s Frankie Jones admitted she was overwhelmed by the home support after finishing the first day of her London 2012 campaign.

SOLID START: Great Britain's rhythmic gymnast Francesca Jones began her home Games campaign in strong fashion

Rhythmic gymnast Jones stands in 21st place in the individual all-round competition after two rotations – the ball and the hoop – and the six-time national champion finishes with the ribbon and the club tomorrow.

And the 21-year-old, who was not expected to finish among the top ten finalists, is hoping to put her sport on the map.

She said: “I'm not really thinking about positions so for me it's just about doing the best I can and showing rhythmic gymnastics in this country is here and hopefully will inspire a lot of people.

“It was probably the most overwhelming competition I have ever done. I knew there was going to be a lot of support but that much blew me away.

"I was happy. There's always more you can do but with how nervous I was I was pleased with how it went overall. My target is just to be pleased when I come off the floor.”

Jones finished the day with a score of 48.750 as Russia’s Daria Dmitrieva tops the leader board on 57.800.

A score of 24.550 for her ball routine saw Jones get off to a solid start before 24.200 on the hoop set her up for tomorrow’s finale.

© Sportsbeat 2012