Gymnasts Fly the Flag

Four young gymnasts from Ellan Vannin Gymnastics Club delivered brilliant performances against the UK’s best at the British Gymnastics National Finals.

Chelsea D’Ottavio, Lora Markova, Ava Quirk and Jessica Shannon competed at the finals in Stoke-on-Trent this weekend.

Competing in Performance Grades 1 and 2, the girls, aged just 9 to 11, they were among the youngest qualifiers at the event, which features the top five gymnasts from each of Britain’s 14 regions.

In Performance Grade 1, Jessica, Ava, and Chelsea competed as a team, with all their scores going towards the team total.

While a team would normally be made up of five members with the top three scores going forward, they all had to deliver under added pressure.

Seemingly thriving under it, the trio performed clean routines across the board and achieved a significant milestone by improving the team ranking by an impressive two places on last year.

Results

Of the 55 competitors, Ava earned a joint 5th place on bars, Jessica placed 18th on bars and 22nd on range and conditioning and Chelsea achieved a personal best on bars and beam, besting her result from the Isle of Man qualifiers.

In Performance Grade 2, Lora Markova, being the only gymnast who qualified from the Isle of Man, competed as an individual and delivered an exceptional performance.

Among 53 competitors, she placed: 15th on vault, 15th on bars, and 11th on floor, 3rd on range & conditioning and 2nd on beam.

She narrowly missed out on the top spot by just 0.1 points!

Proud

The club said: “Her results on beam and range and conditioning earned her two British Gymnastics medals – an incredible accomplishment and a proud moment for the island and the club.

“Lora also achieved a personal best overall score, higher than her Isle of Man qualifying result.”

The girls were accompanied at the event by their coach Stacey Saltwell-Garrett and coach Jenny Harris providing guidance and support that was instrumental throughout.

The club and coaching team are extremely proud of the girls’ achievements, their dedication, and the way they represented the Isle of Man on a national stage! 

Sponsors

As the club continues to support its young gymnasts in reaching the highest levels of competition, the club is seeking sponsors to help with training, travel, and competition costs.

Anyone inspired by the team’s achievements and keen to support grassroots sport can get in touch at ellanvanningym@outlook.com.