GBR Team in Melbourne- calm and full of hope!
The GBR Team arrived in Melbourne on Tue, 15 Nov. to take
part in the 2005 World Championships in Artistic Gymnastics
and have already recovered from jetlag and are following a
strict twice a day training regime.
“All is well, no complaints whatsoever, at this moment
in time”, said Paul Hall, the personal coach of Louis
Smith (16), from Huntingdon Gym Club, who, after the closing
of the final entries proved to be the youngest male competitor
in the Championships (DOB 22 April 1989).
“Louis is very good at handling this level of competitive
pressure”, continued Hall, “so it was at the European
Championships in 2004 when he won the European Junior title
on Pommel Horse and also at a number of international events.
We believe he will prove his innate talent once again in the
Qualifications taking place on Tue, 22 Nov”.
“Louis will only compete on Pommels; our most experienced
gymnast, Ross Brewer (26), from Sutton School of Gymnastics,
will cover all six pieces for the All-around. Following the
long trip, he is suffering a slight cold, but we believe that
he will be in his best form for the start of the event, next
Tuesday”.
“One of the things that make this Championships is,
that, for the first time, the Judges are not allowed to watch
the training sessions. We the coaches, find this a positive
decision by the FIG. It prevents the judges from forming a
definite opinion about the gymnasts long before the actual
competition”.
Andrei Popov, the British National Junior Coach is of the
opinion that Melbourne will be a top level gymnastics event
and it will be a tough and intriguing challenge for the medals.
“The number of gymnasts who impress with excellent
preparation and extraordinary routines seems greater than
ever. To try to predict the medal winners here is a real gamble”,
stated Popov.
While Ross Brewer and Louis Smith are having their second
training of the day on Thursday, in the Rod Lever Training
Hall, the GBR Women are training in the other training facility,
the Vodafone Hall, some 100 metres away.
As expected, the centre of the attention is Beth Tweddle
(20) from Liverpool, the 2003 World Bronze medallist, 2002
Commonwealth Games Champion and 2005 World Student Champion
on A. Bars. She has already given an interview for the Australian
Host Broadcaster, Channel 10.
Come the training on the A. Bars, it is obvious that not
only Beth, but also Shavahn Church (16) - the British-American
newcomer to the National Team from California- and Rhian Pugh
(16)- the 2004 Junior European Champion on A. Bars from Bristol-
could all impress the judges with their maximum Start Values
of 10. Is GBR the new up-and-coming threat on this apparatus?
It could well be, depending on the performances on the day
(Women’s’ Qualification round is on Wed, 23 Nov.)
Another debutant at Senior level, Imogen Cairns (also 16),
from The Academy Gym Club (near Bristol), is also looking
good in training, getting ready to compete on Floor and Vault.
With only two out of ten 2004 Olympic Champions missing from
the Start Lists; 53 countries being represented in the Men’s
competition and 41- in the Women’s, together with an
abundance of fresh talent coming into the spotlight, the 38th
Artistic Gymnastics Championships promises to be a truly memorable
event.
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