South Shields gymnasts strike gold as trio are named as national champions

South Tyneside Gymnasti Club members, left to right, Ruby Oliver, Megan Neal, Chloe Heley, Lucy Atkinson, Lauren Said, Georgie Scandle, Hannah Smith, Lauren Conlin and Oliva Parker, who competed at Stoke.

Lauren Said, Lucy Atkinson and Georgie Scandle fought off stiff competition to take the top spot in the British Tournament held in Stoke.

The trio, who train at South Tyneside Gymnastics Club at Temple Park, competed in the 12-18 women’s category, and led the contest from the start after wowing judges with their acrobatic work.

Coach Ian Said said: “The girls had led from the start and they were up against quite a strong field of competitors.

“But they carried out their routine with a high level of discipline and executed their routine perfectly.”

As a trio they have won a number of competitions, and took gold earlier this year at an internationl contest held in Italy.

Other gymnasts from the club also took part in the contest, but were just pipped at the post for a medal.

Chloe Heley, Megan Neal and Ruby Oliver competed in the 11-16 women’s group, coming fourth, narrowly beaten to a medal place by 0.05 of a point.

While, Lauren Conlin, Hannah Smith and Oliva Parker, who had been in second place as they headed into their second routine, lost out on a place after an error caused them to lose marks.

All six had performed for the first time in their trios in a higher age group.

Mr Said added; “For Chloe, Megan and Ruby, Lauren, Hannah and Oliva, it was the first time they have competed in their trios in the higher age group.

“But it was good experience for them moving forward.

“Everyone did really well at the competition and as a club we are growing. We are going to more competitions and winning medals.

“Everything is going really well, we are in a really strong position and we have a very high standard of gymnast within our club.”

South Tyneside Gymnastics Centre has been creating regional, national and world champions for more than five decades.

It has a range of sessions available throughout the week for a variety of age ranges and abilities.

The centre remains open for business despite demolition work being carried out nearby on the former swimming pool.

For details on sessions and times, visit www.stgym.co.uk or call 424 6426 between 9am and 8pm.