The best of the best of Great Britain came together to contest who exactly is the best gymnast in the country as of right now. With the European championships just weeks away, we can take away some highs of the competition and some room for improvement as well.
The all-around crown was tightly contested between three gymnasts – and the one who came out on top today was first year senior Amy Tinkler who finished with a total of 56.650.
Amy’s highlight of the day was vault where she scored a 14.850 with a clean double twisting Yurchenko. She also scored a 14.400 on floor – which puts a statement down that she could be a medal contender` on this event in the up and coming Europeans.
Claudia Fragapane’s day was full of ups and downs – making mistakes on her first two events where she caught her feet on the bar on her Church release skill, and slipped off the beam on her front arial.
However, the four time Commonwealth gold medalist picked herself up with a massive 14.900 on floor, where she posted a D score of 6.4. She then vaulted her way into second place with a 14.800.
First year senior Ellie Downie started off quite rough on floor where she landed out of bounds on her second tumble and then sat down her tucked double arabian.
She finished her day on a high on beam where she performed a Patterson dismount – she scored a 13.650 to place third overall.
Other notable performances includes Becky Downie who did a safe routine on bars to secure her place in the bars final on Sunday (14.460).
First year senior Tyesha Mattis, who is coming back from injury, performed on bars and beam where she got the second highest score on bars, scoring a 14.400. She also showed off great skills on beam including a BHS, LOSO, LOSO and a BHS to full twisting tuck. Unfortunately she fell off on her side somi and put her hand down onto the beam on her double turn. She did however qualify to both finals where she will have the opportunity to pick up two medals from these championships.
A gymnast who really caught my eye today was Commonwealth gold medalist Kelly Simm – who really showed herself to be quite the trickster of the competition. On floor she unveiled a whip into a full twisting double back and also she unveiled a new full twisting double back dismount on beam. Be sure to keep your eye on her throughout the course of this year.
Full results of the competition:
Article: Craig Tilley
Photo by: Myriam Cawston