Sponsored by
Katie's national bronze
BURY St Edmunds gymnast Katie Duncan added a second national bronze medal to her growing collection, with an individual bronze to go with the team bronze she won earlier this year.
The 14-year-old took the long trip north to Perth, where she competed in the Scottish Juniors Gymnastic Championships. This was Katie’s first year in this age group and was a rare attempt at the possibility of a championship going over two days.
A steady start on her first, and least favourite discipline, the beam, saw her in fourth place. This was followed by vault, where competitors have to attempt two different vaults, consecutively.
With both vaults being steady, if not perfect, Katie remained in fourth place. Floor was next and, with a fall in her routine and a couple of wobbles, her score dropped her down to sixth overall. Saving her best until last, Katie’s asymmetric bar routine was her best of the day and boosted her up to the bronze medal winning position.
Katie’s performance on the day caught the eye of the Scottish selectors and she has been invited to trial for the Scottish Commonwealth Games squad in December. This will mean many more hours of hard work in Bury Spectrum Gym over the next few months but it is a challenge the quiet KEGS pupil relishes.
With the top six gymnasts in each discipline qualifying for the individual championships the following day, even better was the knowledge that she had qualified in three of the four disciplines and was first reserve in the other.
A late finish on Saturday evening and an early start on Sunday morning, were not the best preparations for Katie’s first attempt at a two-day competition but all the finalists were in the same position.
The day proved not so fruitful for Katie, with the bars being the nearest she came to an individual medal, losing out by five one-hundredths of a point.
A steady vault and a below-average beam performance saw her out of the medal hunt but the hard work was done on the previous day in the all-round competition.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
