Scotland's Lynn surprises himself to join Ward on pommel podium

Cammy Lynn, left, and Reuben Ward claimed bronze and silver respectively on the pommel horse [BBC Sport]

On Sunday, Reuben Ward and Cammy Lynn were bouncing around fuelled by an intoxicating mix of testosterone and joy after the former made history by becoming Scotland's first ever men's all-around Commonwealth Games champion.

That Lynn had finished 10th in the same event did not dillute his delight.

But 24 hours on, the Saltire-swaddled pair bounded around the Glasgow International Arena again belting out 'No Scotland, No Party' with a medal each around their necks after a tense pommel horse competition.

That Ward added silver to Sunday's gold was no great surprise - this is, after all, considered his strongest discipline - but not many expected Lynn to join him on the podium. Not least the 23-year-old himself.

The Stirling native was the sixth to go in the eight-man competition. Jordan Carroll of Canada had already posted a mark that would ultimately earn him gold - with Ward falling just short immediately after him - when Lynn had his shot at it

And on the big occasion - an occasion in which the Scot was clearly revelling - he delivered one of his best ever routines to move into third, just one place behind his team-mate.

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It left Scotland in silver and bronze position but Northern Ireland's Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan and Australia's Ritam Malik were still to go. Surely at least one Scots was going to be disappointed? And Lynn was the most likely.

"I mean, it's Rhys McClenaghan, right? He's the Olympic champion," Lynn told BBC Sport Scotland. "So, as he's stepping up, I'm just buzzing that I've scored a 13.8 and I didn't really think much of it other than that.

"I mean, that guy's the Olympic champion. And Ritam's an amazing gymnast as well, so I was just thinking, 'oh, a little top five finish might be quite nice'."

A few minutes later, Lynn had much, much more than that - even after the Northern Irish team lodged an ultimately-pointless protest against McClenagahan's mark.

And nobody was happier for him than his pal Ward, who could be forgiven for having his senses scrambled after the 24 hours he has had.

A gold medal. More attention than he's ever had before. Emotional exhaustion. Then returning here the on Monday for the Floor event, which culminated in him scudding his face off the floor while trying to execute an ambitious dismount.

The 21-year-old's pommel routine was hugely impressive in the aftermath of that, though, albeit it fell just 0.34 points shy of Carroll's stunning effort.

"I expected to be up really late last night, but I was just drained," Ward told BBC Sport Scotland. "I'd been through so many emotions and I was just so tired.

"I woke up in the morning and thought 'I've got a new day today'. I really went for it on the floor and just missed out, then went to the pommel and thought, 'I've just got to give it my all'.

"And to get two out of three on the podium for Scotland, and to do it with one of my best friends is a feeling I can't describe."

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