BENFLEET gymnast Brinn Bevan made history by helping Team GB claim gold at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Holland.

The 16-year-old, who trains at the Basildon Sporting Village with the successful South Essex club, was part of a trio including Nile Wilson and Jay Thompson that sealed the top spot on the podium for the first time in Britain’s history.

They held off stiff competition from the Russian team in particular to scoop gold with a score of 169.550 in Utrecht.

And, with the individual all-around competition still to come, where Bevan is top ahead of Wilson, he is itching for more success.

“Having the Olympic rings on my chest added a bit of pressure because this time I was competing for Team GB not just British Gymnastics,” he said.

“All of our hard work has paid off, we’ve been training together for the past month and the Russians are really strong, so to beat them was really good.

“It feels good to qualify first for the all-around final, but I am up against Nile so it will be tough.

“He had a fall and I went clean but it was great to qualify in a good position.”

At the London 2012 Olympics last summer the British men’s gymnastics team made history in scooping bronze for the first time in a century.

Deanes School pupil Bevan believes there will be more medals for Team GB, who have two members in every apparatus final except the vault.

“From the team performance we expect to win lots more medals in the individual finals, but ultimately we just want to go out there and do our country proud,” he added.

“It was great fun in the team competition we started off well and just tried to keep the momentum going.

“We knew we could win and we went out there and did the job.

“The boys winning the bronze medal in London was certainly an inspiration to us, it’s good to see that we are being recognised as a gymnastics nation now.”

Bevan is club-mates with British seniors Reiss Beckford and Max Whitlock, who won two bronze medals at London 2012.

>The British Olympic Association prepares and leads British athletes at the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games. It works in partnership with sport National Governing Bodies to enhance Olympic success and is responsible for championing the Olympic values. www.teamgb.com