BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007
Fenton Manor, Stoke - 18/19 November
TWO BRITISH CHAMPIONS FOR BATH!
Bath's elite gymnasts had a really fantastic weekend at the recent British Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships held at Fenton Manor, Stoke On Trent. Four girls from the club qualified for what is the most prestigious competition of the year, and between them they came home with a grand haul of sixteen medals!
In particular – Francesca Fox and Lynne Hutchison – really excelled themselves and were crowned overall British champions in their age groups!
Saturday saw the overall competition take place. First up from Bath was Caitlin Brennan in the Under 10 section. In her first British Championships, she showed remarkable composure and style in her two routines to take a well deserved bronze overall medal. Then it was the turn of Marnie Calwell in the Under 12s who performed three very solid and dynamic routines to also take the overall bronze medal, matching her performance at last year’s championships.
In the afternoon, it was the turn of Lynne in the Under 13s and Frankie in the Juniors (Under 15) and both girls were facing tough opposition. Lynne was up against last year's overall U12 champion, Kezi Gore from Canterbury, and a real struggle between the two soon developed. Good ribbon and rope routines put Lynne ahead at first, but then a bad error in her hoop left her back in second place. However, she finished with a very expressive and elegant ball routine that just enabled her to snatch back first position and a dramatic victory. The result was all the more satisfying for Lynne as, this time last year, she was recovering after being hospitalised with Lyme’s disease and had to miss the competition altogether.
In the Juniors, the competition was even more dramatic. Frankie was defending the title she had won by a clear margin last year, but this year she was facing strong opposition in the shape of Rachel Smith from Coventry. An impressive rope routine put her ahead initially, but some errors and bad luck in her hoop meant she then fell back to second place. An excellent ball routine then almost ended in disaster, when she dropped the ball right at the end of the routine and just managed to stop it leaving the carpet.
So with just her ribbon to go, she was still behind and it seemed like the chance of retaining her title had gone. But then she pulled out all the stops to deliver an absolutely immaculate routine that gained her highest score of the day, and gave her the title by just 0.018 marks – the narrowest of margins!
Sunday saw the girls competing in the individual apparatus finals where Caitlin took a bronze in the Under 10 rope and Marnie took bronzes in the Under 12 rope and clubs and a gold with a really excellent ball routine. Lynne and Frankie were also among the medals, with Lynne taking gold in the Under 13 ribbon and silvers in the ball, rope and hoop, and Frankie three golds in the Junior hoop, rope and ribbon plus a bronze in the ball.
But it was Saturday’s performances that really stood out for Bath and head coach Sarah Binding was ecstatic that the club now has two overall British champions.
“It was a great weekend and Lynne and Frankie did really well. I am so pleased for them. Lynne is a very dedicated and determined gymnast and really deserves her success this year, and Frankie too has been training very, very hard for this. For her to win the national title two years in a row is an extraordinary achievement.”
Full results of the competition at the results section of the BG website.