MAX Whitlock has urged his team-mates – including Pudsey's Nile Wilson – to forget about their medal near-miss after Great Britain were edged into fourth place in the men's team gymnastics final at Rio Olympic Park.

Louis Smith's fall on the final pommel horse rotation cost his team any remaining chance of edging back into the top three position they had held until being overtaken by China in the penultimate phase.

A stunning set on the parallel bars by the reigning Olympic champions left GB with an almost impossible task on their favoured apparatus, where they are expected to go head to head for individual gold later in the week.

Britain – also including Kristian Thomas and Brinn Bevan – fell short by just under two points, scoring 269.752 which was behind the Chinese on 271.122. Favourites Japan finished strongly to take gold with 274.094, ahead of silver medallists Russia with 271.453.

Whitlock said: "It's disappointing – we knew we had the potential to be right up there and we did our best.

"It wasn't the best we could ever do, and some of the scores were lower than we usually get, but that's the way sport is.

"We've got to look forward to the (individual) finals now and forget about it. Obviously it makes you want to go back and produce some big results and it is about going out there and doing the job."

* DENHOLME weightlifter Rebekah Tiler tastes Olympic action for the first time tomorrow when she competes in the women’s 69kg category.

At the age of 17, Tiler is one of the youngest athletes representing Great Britain at the Games.

Her selection came after a successful season to date, in which she has won a European Championship bronze and broken two national records in winning gold at the recent British Championships.

On making her Olympic debut, the former Bingley Grammar School pupil said: “I am so excited and honoured to be representing Team GB in Rio – it’s a dream come true and something I’ve wanted ever since I got into the sport."

Tiler finished fourth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games last September.