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 Olympic host Great Britain continued its romp at the 2012 Men's European Championships in Montpellier, France, capturing the senior team title Saturday. Pictured: British gymnasts Kristian Thomas, Ruslan Panteleymonov, Louis Smith, Daniel Purvis and Max Whitlock show off their gold medals. Olympic host Great Britain continued its romp at the 2012 Men's European Championships in Montpellier, France, capturing the senior team title Saturday. The British men won their third straight gold medal of the championships and their first senior continental title with a tight victory over Russia, 266.296-265.535. Romania won the bronze with 261.319. Great Britain has dominated the competition in Montpellier, already winning the junior team and all-around titles for the third consecutive championship. The British owed their senior victory in large part to their supremacy on pommel horse, where their tally of 45.433 was the highest of any event except vault. (The next-best pommel horse total was 42.799 from Ukraine, fifth overall.) Event finalists Louis Smith (15.833) and Max Whitlock (15.300) had the two best marks of the day on horse, while Dan Purvis contributed 14.300.  "After the pommel I was into team leader role, trying to encourage everyone and keep them focused and that's exactly what they did," Smith said. "This is my first European gold and it's history in the making for Great Britain, it's great to be a part of." While the British men confirmed their status as Olympic medal contenders, they have room for improvement in the final stretch toward London. Purvis erred on floor exercise (13.966), Kristian Thomas fell on vault and Whitlock flubbed high bar (12.533). After Whitlock's mistake, Thomas needed to score at least 14.372 to move Britain past Russia. He nailed his routine for 15.133 to seal the gold medal. "I didn't know what score I needed on high bar — I just knew I needed to go clear," Thomas said. "The adrenaline was immense. We've worked so hard in the gym to prepare for days like this and with the support of the lads I managed to pull through. We're so proud. The first ever senior championships title - a great achievement." The only question after the team's convincing victory is if world medalist Daniel Keatings and Youth Olympic champion Sam Oldham will be able to find spots on the squad. Like the European championships, the Olympics will feature only five gymnasts comprising each team instead of the six that competed in 2008. Newcomer Denis Ablyazin led Russia to the silver with strong routines on floor exercise (15.266), still rings (15.241) and vault (16.066). Chosen over Nikita Ignatyev, Olympic bronze medalist Anton Golotsutskov disappointed for Russia with missed routines on floor exercise (14.266) and high bar (12.533). Armed with two ex-Russian team members, fourth-place Belarus missed the bronze by less than .3. Defending champion Germany fell to sixth behind Ukraine and ahead of Switzerland. Third in qualification, host France limped to eighth place with only two scores on four of the six events. In the first rotation, Samir Ait Said crashed his Dragulescu vault, scoring a disastrous 0.000. The team was already without the services of team captain Yann Cucherat, who injured two fingers on parallel bars in qualification. Ait Said, who had been the favorite for the still rings title in Montpellier, will undergo an MRI on his right knee to determine if he has suffered any ligament damage. The two injuries are an additional blow to the unlucky French men; the team already lost world champion Thomas Bouhail to what may be a career-ending leg injury, while Olympic all-around bronze medalist Benoit Caranobe has not been able to return to form after a torn Achilles' tendon and broken ankle suffered in 2010. Competition concludes Sunday in Montpellier with the junior and senior apparatus finals. External Link: Official Website 2012 Men's European Gymnastics Championships
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Great Britain
Russia
Romania
Belarus
Ukraine
Germany
Switzerland
France
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