The high bar is an unforgiving piece of apparatus and Birmingham gymnast Dominick Cunningham is showing no mercy to his nemesis after missing out on becoming European champion.

Cunningham and the rest of the British squad were leading the men’s team event heading into the horizontal bar, the sixth and final rotation in Glasgow’s SSE Hydro.

But after falling twice, the 23-year-old had to pick himself up in more ways than one, with Russia seizing the advantage to force Britain to settle for second.

That still meant a silver medal came his way, joined on the podium by fellow Birmingham gymnast Joe Fraser as well as Courtney Tulloch, James Hall and Olympic champion Max Whitlock.

But for Cunningham, priorities were more aligned to an unusual style of revenge on his new-found foe.

“My head was ready to go into the next skill and then all of a sudden I’ve flown off the bar – those bar grips are heading into the river, I’m not joking!” said the Commonwealth team champion.

“Coming to bar there were no nerves but this is gymnastics, anything can happen. It’s an unfortunate event for me to fall not once but twice.

“But the emotion in the team is exceptional, we’ve had so much fun and we’re not stopping yet – this is just the beginning.

“The crowd was phenomenal, once they got behind me I felt okay again, they carried on supporting me and when I finished they were applauding me.

“It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. You have to go through these experiences and these hard times to work and pick yourself up from that.”

Britain’s score of 253.362 was just four points shy of the Russians but any potential disappointment will be short-lived, all five members of the team heading into individual finals on Sunday.

For Cunningham's teammate Fraser, two chances of a maiden individual European medal will come his way as he goes in the parallel and horizontal bars – already revelling in an unforgettable experience in the SSE Hydro.

“It was absolutely unreal, to be out there and showing the home crowd what I could do is incredible, my family were out there and knowing everyone is watching your routine is surreal,” he said.

“I’m in a team with Commonwealth medallists, Olympic medallists and for me it’s a case of showing them that I’m worthy of being in such a great team – and beating them at Fifa!

“I’m so proud of everyone, I just tried to have as much fun as I could and tried not to think about this being the European Championship final.”

SSE customers can get up to 48 hour advanced ticketing, lounge upgrades, exclusive competitions and VIP experiences at our sponsored venues, The SSE Arena, Wembley and The SSE Hydro. We’re also incredibly proud to support The SSE Women’s FA Cup. ssereward.com