KRISTIAN Thomas won his first individual European medal at the European Gymnastics Championships last weekend.

The Earls Gymnastics Club member took high bar bronze to add to a team silver medal to cap a superb championship for the British men’s team in Sofia.

A Great Britain team made up of Thomas and Sam Oldham, Dan Keatings, Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis put in a great performance but weren’t quite able to topple Russia who took the gold by scoring 267.959 to Britain’s 265.953.

After the team event, Thomas said: “We left our selves a bit too much to do with a few early mistakes but the character we showed was fantastic, we are a very tight group and we all worked hard for each other and are really happy to have fought so hard and won the silver.”

However, he then went on to claim his first individual medal with an accomplished high bar routine.

He added: “It was a pretty tense and close competition so to come out with the bronze medal – my first individual European medal – is fantastic. My routine wasn’t perfect but my experience got me through. We are all so well prepared and know how to fight for the medals and that’s what I did.”