The 25-year-old Chatham-born athlete, who trains at Washington Leisure Centre in Tyne and Wear, finished seventh after enduring a wait of almost eight hours to see if her routine, which initially placed her second, would be good enough to withstand the subsequent efforts of another 66 competitors.

Driscoll, who has earned gold, silver and bronze in this year's World Cup competition, finished with a score of 98.765 points from a routine designed with 2012 in mind, which incorporated the new elements of "time in flight".

Britain's Laura Gallagher, who scored 98.290, dropped out of the final places in the last hour of competition.

Driscoll's success justified her decision last year to give up full-time work in the HSBC bank in Durham city centre in order to concentrate on training for London 2012.

She will face strong Chinese and Russian opposition in the final.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]