After almost four hours of competition in which each gymnast competed across four apparatus - the beam, vault, floor exercise and uneven bar - it all came down to the final routine of the evening for the gold medal.

It was Fragapane, the 16-year-old from Bristol, who only made the transition to the senior ranks this year, who had the chance to take gold, requiring a score of 13.833 on the floor to do so.

She not only did that but posted the highest floor total of the day, of 14.733, to win overall by a comfortable margin of 0.9 of a point.

As the crowd cheered, compatriot Ruby Harrold had to be content with second place, while Hannah Whelan finished third to confirm the clean sweep.

It was England's first ever victory in the event and, as if to illustrate the transition, marked a complete reversal of the result four years ago in Delhi, when Australia occupied all three positions on the podium.

England's Max Whitlock won the artistic gymnastics men's all-around competition in fine fashion ©AFP/Getty Images



This triumph came just hours after Max Whitlock had dominated the men's all-around final to win his second gold of the Games, following the instrumental role he played in the team competition yesterday.

The 21-year-old scored well on all six pieces of apparatus to post a superb score of 90.631, a world-class total.

Whitlock's closest challenger, Scotland's Dan Keatings, scored 88.298 to take silver, while bronze was won by yet-another-Englishman in 18-year-old Nile Wilson.

"Since London 2012 the all-around has been the target for me and to pull it all off today has been incredible," Whitlock, who won Olympic bronze medals in the team and pommel horse events two years ago, said.

"I wasn't paying much attention to the scores I just wanted to do my job out there.

"I can't explain the feeling, it's crazy, before the final routine [high bar] I was so nervous, so for everything to come together and to stick my final landing like I did is unreal!"

More English medals success can be virtually guaranteed when the individual apparatus finals begin tomorrow.

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