2005 British Championships for Women in Guildford- Review
British gymnastics star Beth Tweddle not only won her fifth
overall Senior title at the 2005 Championships in Guildford
on Sat., 9 July- she also took all available Gold medals in
the Apparatus Finals on Sun, 10 July (Vault, A. Bars, Beam
and Floor).
The 20-year old, second year student at the John Moores University
in Liverpool, seems unbeatable, although the pressure on her
from the younger National team members is growing with every
event.
Samantha Bayley (Welsh Inst. Of Sport) and Imogen Cairns
(The Academy) were closest to Beth in the overall event (in
second and third place respectively), with Imogen winning
Silver medals on Vault and Floor and Samantha- Bronze medals
on Vault and A. Bars.
Rhian Pugh (Bristol Hawks) was the runner up on A. Bars and
Alice Green (Sapphire) - on Beam.
"While in the All-around everybody fought for top position,
for the Apparatus Finals I expected them to deliver at the
requested international standards. They tried to do their
best in the Finals!", said Women’s Technical Director
Adrian Stan.
In the Junior level (up to 16 years old) South Durham now
plays a key role with Hayley Robson winning the overall title
and Gold medal on A. Bars and Amy Fossheim, Champion on Floor
and 4th overall.
However the Junior star in the Apparatus Finals on Sunday
was Amy Nunes from Heathrow who added to her Bronze medal
in the All-around, the titles on Vault and Beam.
As for the youngest gymnasts in Guildford, the Espoir (up
to 14), Notts Gym Club defended their reputation in bringing
talents who will, most probably, claim places in both the
2008 and 2012 British Olympic Teams.
Last year’s Espoir champion Becky Downie defended her
title in style and took the Gold on Vault impressing deeply
with the maturity in her performances and the difficulty in
her routines. Laura Jones, the runner-up in the overall, stole
two Apparatus titles- on Floor and Beam.
In the Espoir competition, a big improvement was also demonstrated
by Abi-Louise Kirby from Liverpool (daughter of Amanda Kirby,
the personal coach of Beth Tweddle), who was best on A. Bars,
second on Vault and Beam and third in the overall and Floor.
Hannah Freeman (Sapphire), Hannah Whelan (Vernon Park), Jordan
Lipton (Notts), Beth Jeffrey (Wigan) and Tori Simpson (Huntingdon)
were closest to the above mentioned top three young talents
in Guildford.
The weekend in The Spectrum will be remembered for: the obvious
raising of the gymnastics standards across the three age groups;
its excellent organisation; the full house and last but not
least, its knowledgeable and very enthusiastic crowd.
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