Huntingdon star Louis Smith helped Great Britain to a European Championship team silver medal – then immediately insisted they are right on track for the Olympic Games later this summer.

Smith, Kristian Thomas, Courtney Tulloch, Dan Purvis and Nile Wilson produced a score of 268.4 to take second spot in Swiss capital, Bern yesterday (Saturday).

Smith’s fine score of 15.966 for his pommel horse routine was one of the highlights of a polished all-round GB performance in the final major event ahead of Rio.

Smith, a medallist at the last two Olympics in Beijing and London, told www.bbc.co.uk: “There is a lot we can take from this competition.

“We did 18 clean routines even though we are not at full capacity yet.

“We are still eight weeks from Rio and I think we’re doing fantastically well.”

But Smith was unable to retain his individual European crown on the pommel horse this morning.

The Huntingdon Gymnastics Club star finished fourth in the final today after a slip during his routine.

Armenian ace Harutyun Merdinyan took gold with a score of 15.366 with Russian rival David Belyavskiy in second on 15.233.

Christian Baumann of Switzerland claimed bronze with 14.900 while Smith had to settle for a score of 14.733.

Smith added: “As gymnasts we make the sport look easy, but it’s a difficult job and every now and then that happens.”

European Championships men’s team final

Results: 1 Russia 271.3, 2 Great Britain 268.4, 3 Switzerland 263.2, 4 Ukraine 257.6, 5 Germany 256.4, 6 France 254.0, 7 Italy 253.3, 8 Spain 244.6.