PONTYPOOL gymnast Maisie Methuen claimed a silver medal for Great Britain at the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The 14-year-old finished second on the balance beam with a score of 13.650 to claim one of 20 medals for Team GB.

Methuen also earned seventh-place in the team event alongside Georgia-Mae Fenton and Lucy Stanhope and 12th in the all-around final.

“It feels amazing to have won silver,” said the West Monmouth School pupil.

“I didn’t expect to get second so it feels amazing to have won a medal.

“It’s been a really hard week here with a lot of training but it’s all paid off so I’m really happy.

“The whole week has been a really good experience for me as I’ve never been in an athlete’s village before and it’s the biggest event I’ve ever competed at.

“It’s been nice to come away with the team and get to know the other girls really well.

“In the long run I want to try to make it to the Europeans and the World Championships and hopefully one day the Olympics.”

Chair of Welsh Gymnastics, Helen Phillips, said: “I want to congratulate Maisie and her coach Tracey Skirton on this fantastic achievement.

“The medal is testament to their hard work.

“Maisie is certainly a rising star in Welsh gymnastics and one to watch in the future of our fantastic sport."

Overall at Tbilisi 2015 Team GB won four gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals.

Gymnastics was the most successful of Team GB’s five sports, delivering ten of the 20 medals, while there were eight in the pool for the swimmers as well as two cycling bronze.

The haul helped Team GB finish seventh in the medal table of 50 competing nations.

Tbilisi 2015 was the 13th edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival and the six days of competition ran from July 26 to August 1.

Team GB’s Chef de Mission was former modern pentathlete Heather Fell, who won silver at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Fell said: “It’s been an amazing week. The whole team has been great, from the coaches and staff through to the athletes, we all bonded really well and we’ve had some great results and performances too.

“To come back with a top-ten finish in the medal table is amazing given the size of our delegation compared to others. I’m really proud of the team.

“The experience the athletes have had is incredible. To have been able to live in an athlete’s village and competing at this high level standard in brand new sports facilities is brilliant for their development.

“It’s had the feel of an Olympic Games, which is a huge learning curve for them. I’m sure they’ll leave here with some amazing memories from their time in Tbilisi.

“They’ve showed maturity beyond their years in dealing with the challenges faced in a multi-sport Games and hopefully that’s something they can take away with them as well as the strong performances on the field of play.”