Beth Tweddle has staked her place in sporting history by becoming the first Briton to win a medal in a world cup final, writes Susan Swarbrick.

The Liverpool-based teenager took silver on the asymmetric bars, narrowly losing out on the top spot to Chellsie Memmel (US), the world champion on this event, by just 0.013 of a mark.

It was a weekend of surprises, however, as many of the expected victors in this climax to the Gymnastics World Cup, held at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, were usurped by a plethora of superior performances.

In the women's floor, Catalina Ponor (Romania), the current Olympic champion and favourite going into this event, was eclipsed by a gritty and dynamic performance from Daiane Dos Santos (Brazil). On the high bar, another favourite succumbed to the pressure, with Aljaz Pegan (Slovenia) finishing adrift in fourth place, after landing heavily on his knees as he dismounted from the apparatus.

In a tightly fought competition, Valeri Goncharov (Ukraine), who failed to pick up a medal in his own favoured event, the parallel bars, was the unexpected winner, pipping Isao Yoneda (Japan) and Maras Vlasios (Greece).

Elsewhere in the men's competition, Qin Xiao (China) edged the gold on the pommel horse while Mitja Petkovsek (Slovenia) claimed the top spot on parallel bars.

It was also a good weekend for Brazil with Diego Hypolito adding to the success of his compatriot, Dos Santos, by finishing in first place on floor.

In the women's competition Ponor emerged victorious on the beam, while on the vault Alicia Sacramone (US) saw off the challenge of Monica Rosu (Romania), the current Olympic champion on this apparatus, to take the gold medal.