Kelly Simm warmed up for the Commonwealth Games by winning her first British titles.
The 22 year-old from Whiteley was crowned All Around (AA) champion at the 2018 British Championships in Liverpool.
Southampton-born Kelly, who trains with the Dynamo School of Gymnastics at Hamble Community Sports College, is also the new British bars champion and won bronze in the beam event.
Fresh from her success at the American Cup just a week ago, she again showed great composure, hitting four clean routines at the Echo Arena to hit a championship-winning score of 53.40 .
Starting on floor with a strong double straight opening tumble, Kelly went through her floor routine without major error, despite her legs being tired from the previous competitions, starting off with a solid, 12.90.
Kelly then produced her best vault when it mattered, holding the straight shape throughout to score a massive 14.05 before a clean bars routine earned a 13.45.
Finishing off on the beam, Kelly again held her nerve with an elegant and powerful routine to score 13.00.
Kelly, completely overwhelmed, held the historic trophy high, clearly delighted that after two years of disappointments and injury, her hard work and commitment had paid off.
Her coaches, Keith and Debbie Richardson joined her on the podium in acknowledgement of their hard work in producing a British champion.
Keith is now the only coach to have had both male and female senior British All Around Champions.
The apparatus finals were held on Sunday and Kelly, fresh from her victory, once again showed her consistency and quality.
She performed a flawless bars routine, upping her score from the All-Around competition to a massive 13.85 to take the bars title.
Kelly and her coaches were delighted with another clean routine in the beam final, finishing third with a sky high double back dismount to equal her qualifying score of 13.00 and round off an incredibly successful championship.
Director of Coaching Debbie Richardson said: “Years of practice and dedication can only come to fruition after years of preparation and most importantly from a mature athlete.
“This has allowed Kelly to compete at the highest level and reap the benefits. We’re extremely proud of Kelly, and the club in producing a senior British champion and now we look forward to the Commonwealth Games next month.”
Kelly, a Southampton Solent University student, tweeted her reaction.
I just can’t get my head around what has happened this weekend 😱 SENIOR BRITISH ALL AROUND & BARS CHAMPION 🏆🥇🥇& BEAM BRONZE🥉🇬🇧 Extremely overwhelmed 🖤 Moments like these make the hard times 100% worth it, I will never forgot these moment 🤸🏼♀️❤️ pic.twitter.com/VIuKR1BRBR
— Kelly Simm (@Kelly_Simm) March 12, 2018
Kelly’s Dynamo teammate Tayah Askham, a student at St Anne’s, competed in her first ever British Championships after qualifying through the Challenge Cup just six months ago, under the tutelage of Kerri Beaven.
She was 47th with 37.55 in her first year as a senior and will now be working hard to follow in Kelly’s footsteps.
Dynamo also had representation in the boys’ U14 age group, Callum Archer, a student at Crofton School, was 68th with a total of 51.85 across five apparatus.
Teammate Finley Hughes, a Boundary Oak student, competed in four apparatus, scoring 23.60.
Both boys are coached by Nathan Kitcher and gained valuable experience from their first British Championships.
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