‘It’s a good rivalry’ – Jarman and Hepworth in vault battle at Worlds

2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Venue: Indonesia Arena, Jakarta, Indonesia Date: 19-25 October

Great Britain’s Harry Hepworth and Jake Jarman hope to use their “good rivalry” to push each other to success at the World Artistic Gymnastic Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Hepworth, who won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and reigning vault world champion Jarman will compete on the world stage for individual medals despite being close Team GB team-mates.

“It’s a good rivalry,” Hepworth told BBC Sport. “It’s not toxic in any way and I think that’s what has helped us get to where we are now.

“We just push each other. We are both doing insanely difficult vaults and understand how hard it is to perfect them.”

Jarman will bid to defend his title by building on his performance at May’s European championships, which saw him score a near-perfect 15.2 for his first vault.

He hopes to contain his “excitement” this time round, which he admits affected the execution of his second vault in that competition and cost him his third European vault title.

“That competition was a bit of a learning curve for me,” he said. “It was the first time I had nailed a vault like that in an event final.

“Normally, I tell myself to settle down and bring the energy levels down for the next performance, but that time round it was a bit of a shock.

“I was overwhelmed by excitement, so for my second vault my legs went to jelly and I took a couple more steps than I needed to.

“I need to iron out the smaller mistakes. I have to be a perfectionist when it comes to training these vaults.”

No team competition takes place at the world championships following an Olympics year, so individual medals only are stake.

Jarman and Hepworth are part of a strong six-man team that will compete across all six apparatus in Jakarta.

Three-time European floor champion Luke Whitehouse features, along with Olympian and former parallel bars world champion Joe Fraser, 10-time major championship medallist Courtney Tulloch and Alex Yolshin-Cash, who will compete at his first senior world championships.

In the women’s team, Olympians Ruby Evans and Abi Martin will be joined by British all-around champion Alia Leat and Shantae-Eve Amankwaah, who are making their senior world debuts.

Martin is one to watch for all-around, while Evans prefers floor and vault.

Elsewhere, Ireland’s Olympic pommel horse champion Rhys McClenaghan will miss the competition after undergoing shoulder surgery.

With 11-time Olympic medallist Simone Biles absent from the USA team, veteran gymnasts Leanne Wong, Joscelyn Roberson and Skye Blakely are joined by 17-year-old Dulcy Caylor.

Wednesday, 22 October

12:00-15:30 – Men’s all-around final on iPlayer/BBC Sport website

13:00-15:30 – BBC Two

Thursday, 23 October

12:00-15:30 – Women’s all-around final on iPlayer/BBC Sport website

13:00-15:30 – BBC Two

Friday, 24 October

07:30-12:30 – Individual apparatus finals on BBC Two, iPlayer and BBC Sport website

Saturday, 25 October