Whart an honour for city gym club’s Glen
GYMNASTICS
GLEN WHARTON has every reason to feel on top of the world as he reflects on a successful and rewarding year, writes TONY HODGSON.
The Durham City Gym Club head coach has been named British Gymnastics’ Outstanding Coach of the Year for 2018 - one of the biggest accolades in the sport.
Wharton beat off the challenge of coaches across all disciplines to claim the honour, with which he will be presented in January.
The prestigious prize follows the success of three of his proteges Shanice Davidson, Rachael Davies and Sophie Allen - representing Great Britain at the Senior World Championships for Trampoline, Tumbling and Double
Mini Trampoline in St Petersburg, Russia.
Eighteen-year-old Davidson, from Washington, returned home with a silver medal while Davies and Allen finished fifth and 25th in their respective events.
Wharton said: “I am hugely honoured to receive this award - it came as total shock.
“I had no idea I was in the running for it.
“The judges must have looked at how the club’s gymnasts performed at the worlds and decided I should be the man chosen for it.
“There must have been a lot of people across the sport’s many disciplines in the running for this so to be honoured ahead of them is very humbling.”
On his gymnasts’ success in Russia, Wharton added: “Shanice’s silver was bit of a shock - we did not expect her to do quite as well as that.
“It was an outstanding effort and she is one of only handful of British girls to achieve what she has. Glen Wharton
“Rachael qualified for her final and eventually finished fifth, which again was a terrific effort.
“Sophie made a slight mistake early on in her competition but came back well to record a really good score and end up 25th out of 40.”
He went on: “To have two girls from one club make a world final is very rare.
“I am so proud of what the girls achieved against a very high standard of competition.”
Davidson’s silver helped Great Britain GB to register four gold and three silver medals in St Petersburg to come out on top of the medal table.
It also added to the Wearsider’s team gold and individual bronze medals claimed at the European Championships in Azerbaijan earlier this year - her first competition at senior level.
Davies, 20, is also no stranger to the world stage.
She is a two-time world champion and a five-time European gold medal winner.