It left Scotland in silver and bronze position but Northern Ireland’s Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan and Australia’s Ritam Malik were still to go. Surely at least one Scot was going to be disappointed? And Lynn was the most likely.
“I mean, it’s Rhys McClenaghan, right? He’s the Olympic champion,” Lynn told BBC Sport Scotland. “So, as he’s stepping up, I’m just buzzing that I’ve scored a 13.8 and I didn’t really think much of it other than that.
“I mean, that guy’s the Olympic champion. And Ritam’s an amazing gymnast as well, so I was just thinking ‘oh, a little top-five finish might be quite nice’.”
A few minutes later, Lynn had much, much more than that – even after the Northern Irish team lodged an ultimately-pointless protest against McClenagahan’s mark.
And nobody was happier for him than his pal Ward, who could be forgiven for having his senses scrambled after the 24 hours he has had.
A gold medal. More attention than he’s ever had before. Emotional exhaustion. Then returning here the on Monday for the Floor event, which culminated in him scudding his face off the floor while trying to execute an ambitious dismount.
The 21-year-old’s pommel routine was hugely impressive in the aftermath of that, though, albeit it fell just 0.34 points shy of Carroll’s stunning effort.
“I expected to be up really late last night, but I was just drained,” Ward told BBC Sport Scotland. “I’d been through so many emotions and I was just so tired.
“I woke up in the morning and thought ‘I’ve got a new day today’. I really went for it on the floor and just missed out, then went to the pommel and thought, ‘I’ve just got to give it my all’.
“And to get two out of three on the podium for Scotland, and to do it with one of my best friends is a feeling I can’t describe.”
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