British gymnasts qualify for Games

London — After an epic meltdown at the world gymnastics championships left them scrambling for a spot at their own Olympics, the British rebounded in spectacular fashion Tuesday.

Not only did they lock up a spot at the London Games with their blowout victory at the test event at the O2 Arena, they firmly re-established themselves as contenders for even bigger prizes this summer.

"We couldn't have put in a better performance," said Daniel Keatings, one of Britain's star performers.

Needing to make the top four from an eight-team lineup, Britain finished almost eight points ahead of France. Its score of 358.227 was nearly 10 points better than its total in Japan, where it flopped to finish in 10th — missing qualification for the Olympics by a measly two places.

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Yoshida, Icho qualify for Olympics

Wrestler Saori Yoshida captured her 10th consecutive title in the women's 55-kg class, while Kaori Icho won the 63-kg title for the third time in a row at the national championships Friday, allowing them to secure their tickets to next year's London Olympics.

With the victories, the women met the selection criteria set by the Japan Wrestling Association for their Olympic berths after Yoshida, 29, won her ninth consecutive title and Icho, 27, defended her crown at the world championships in Istanbul in September.

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