By Gymnastics Australia -

2009 National champion Lauren Mitchell claimed two silver medals on the beam and floor on the final day of competition at the 2009 world championships in London.

Mitchell qualified to the beam final in 5th position and was the final competitor to perform. The clear leader was Deng (CHN) who put together a solid routine and was awarded a score of 15.00. Mitchell, the World Cup gold medalist on this apparatus was not phased by the competition and strung together a great routine, missing only one skill connection and taking a small step on her dismount to score 14.875. Hong from the USA took the bronze medal with 14.550.

In the floor final, Mitchell was kept from the gold by home town favourite Beth Tweddle, who took the gold with a score of 14.65. Mitchell, who had incurred "out of boundary" penalties of 0.1 in both the qualification round and all-around final, was keen to make amends avoiding any penalties and tumbling her way to a 14.55, earning her the silver medal. Sui from China took the bronze with 14.3

"My routines were performed like I train so I was really happy with that and I know that there is still room for improvement and this has made me more determined. Now I have a feel for it I want more. I'm am really looking forward to my next competition", commented Mitchell.

Mitchell's individual apparatus medals along with Prashanth Sellathurai's bronze in the pommel horse, have produced Australia's best ever medal haul at a world championships. The previous best was two individual medals to Prashanth Sellathurai (pommel horse - silver) and Philippe Rizzo (horizontal bar - gold) at the 2006 world championships in Aarhus (DEN).

In a string of achievements, Mitchell is the first Australian woman to medal in an individual apparatus final at a world championships. She can also count the highest podium place of an Australian female at a world championships and the only Australian to win two medals at a world championships.

The Australian team's performance at these championships will no doubt buoy the team's preparation for the 2010 Pacific Rim Championships to be held in Melbourne next April and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where Australia will go head to head with commonwealth rivals Great Britain and Canada.

WCSN Subscribers can watch all of Mitchell's performances by clicking here.

With Thanks To Gymnastics Australia