For a couple of 13-year-old gymnasts, the youngest of any competing at these Commonwealth Games, there was just no downside to performing in front of a packed house at Melbourne?s majestic Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night.

That they finished last and second-from-last among the 24 who qualified for the All-Around Final didn?t matter one bit.

Caitlin Mello and Kaisey Griffith were having the time of their young lives and nothing was going to detract from the occasion.

Mello earned her place in the final on the previous night with an impressive showing during team competition. But Griffith had no idea she?d be joining her pal until just minutes before Saturday?s event began.

The youngster, along with the rest of the Island group, had come along simply to cheer on her team-mate. But when two finalists pulled out and Australian favourite Monette Russo injured her ankle during warm-up, suddenly third reserve Griffith was called into action.

?The gymnasts were actually marching out and I had to grab Kaisey from the stands, get her to put on her leotard and rush her out to the floor. It was amazing,? laughed Bermuda coach Michelle Strenk.

?We knew she was third reserve but we didn?t think she would make it.

?She had no time to prepare. She did some stretching but didn?t have time to warm up on the apparatus.

?Two girls in the final for the first time . . . brilliant!? Grifftith went on to shade her team-mate, compiling a points total of 46.100 over the four disciplines ? vault, uneven bars, beam and floor ? compared to Mello?s 46.000.

But with both having already exceeded expectations, results mattered little.

An excited Mello said afterwards: ?I wasn?t expecting to get into the final, so this was great.

?I wasn?t really nervous. I tried just to breathe normally and imagine that all those people weren?t watching me.

?Me and Kaisey have made a pact that we?re going to train really hard so we can do even better next time (in New Delhi, 2010).

?I?ve enjoyed it. I think the floor was pretty good. It?s really where everyone cheers for you and you feel like really famous.?

Having recovered from the last minute excitement of being rushed into the final, Griffith also had time to savour the moment.

?It was really good,? she said. ?I never thought I?d be in Australia doing competition like this, let alone the final. It was a lot of fun.

?It felt really rushed at the start. I thought ?oh my God what am I going to to do?. But it turned out to be ok.?

But for weak performances on the uneven bars on which Mello scored 10.000 and Griffith 9.250 ? the highest was 14.850 and next lowest 11.100 ? the Island pair more than held their own.

Griffith?s best score came on the vault with 13.200 compared to Mello?s 12.350. Both also impressed on the floor with Griffith earning a 12.350 and Mello 11.950. On beam Mello scored 11.700 and Griffith 11.300.