A party of six senior Monarchs gymnasts – Sean McKenna, Joe Blake, Alice Dymond, Natasha Stockham, Katie Hoskins and Ellie Petrie – were invited to compete in the Swiss Open Championships which also were the trials for the European Olympics.
Katie and Ellie finished in first place in both their routines which led them to win a well-deserved gold medal with an overall score of 52.550, beating the second place winners by 5.05 marks. Katie and Ellie came eighth recently in the British Championships.
Alice and Tash also came first in both of their routines. The duo won the gold medal with an overall score of 50.400, winning by a massive ten whole marks overall. Alice and Tash just missed the gold medal in the British Championships, coming home with silver medals.
An impressive performance by Sean and Joe also saw them come away with gold medals as well, which served as an excellent warm-up for the boys for the British NDP Finals.
The team were presented with a magnificent trophy after their success and enjoyed meeting the Japanese team that evening, even with the language barrier, which Amanda Hoskins said ‘doesn’t seem to be a problem in sport’.
She added: “Monarchs will certainly be making a return visit and would definitely advocate everyone taking a trip to Geneva, just for the Swiss hospitality. Everyone has come back ecstatic with lots of stories and memories.”
Story compiled by Lauren Brooks
