International success for young gymnasts

UXBRIDGE College Sports student Trudie Roper is celebrating gymnastics success after representing Great Britain in Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) championships.

Trudie, 17, and her teammates from Heathrow Gymnastics Club came fifth out of 24 teams in The Acrobatic European Championships 2019 (age 13-19 years category) in the event in Holon, Israel.

The trio performed a routine set to music involving balance and dance.

She said: “Even though we didn’t win, I’m really proud of the result - especially as one of my teammates had a broken toe in the run-up to the competition so we couldn’t train as much as we wanted.

“I really enjoy acro and it was great to be part of such a big competition to represent Great Britain.”

Stuart Clapson, Trudie’s tutor, said: “Trudie has done so well and it’s a real credit to her that she manages to balance her studies and her demanding training schedule, as well as competing at such a high level.

“No doubt she will continue to do well long into the future if she carries on applying herself with the same level of dedication and enthusiasm.”

Trudie - who trains for up to 21 hours a week on top of her studies - is pictured with her teammates Molly Berry (left), Sumaiya Hines (second left) and their coach Alex Uttley.

She has been doing acrobatic gymnastics for around ten years and in her current partnership for four years. She is studying the BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Sport and is currently thinking about going to university.

Trudie and her team were also successful in European competitions in Portugal and Valencia in 2019.