Fantastic Felix Coomber earns all-around bronze as Portsmouth talents show class in English Championships

Portsmouth talent Felix Coomber secured a bronze medal with a brilliant display at the English Championships.
Joshua Windebank, left, and Felix CoomberJoshua Windebank, left, and Felix Coomber
Joshua Windebank, left, and Felix Coomber

The prestigious national event takes place in Redbridge, London.

Felix, who trains at Portsmouth Gymnastics Centre (PGC), was in outstanding form.

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He was competing along with team-mate Joshua Windebank as they took on the best under 16 gymnasts in the country.

Portsmouth gymnasts were in good form in the English ChampionshipsPortsmouth gymnasts were in good form in the English Championships
Portsmouth gymnasts were in good form in the English Championships

Joshua finished a fantastic 14th in the all-around competition despite a slight stumble at the end of his rings routine.

However, Felix put in a star performance across all six apparatus to not only finish third on the all-around podium but also claim a silver medal for his brilliant routine on the floor.

Starting his competition on the pommel horse, he went from piece to piece confidently completing his routines in style. His third apparatus was vault, his strongest apparatus.

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Here, he put in two good vaults to finish fourth and miss out on the bronze on this apparatus by the narrowest of margins.

Despite this his first vault score contributed to his all around score which was building nicely.

The final piece of apparatus was the floor exercise. It was another strong piece for Felix.

He knew he needed a high score to claim an apparatus medal and he completed his routine with ease to score a personal best of 13.15. That was enough to give him the silver medal on the floor and a spot on the all-around medal podium.

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PGC also had representation from many other gymnasts including Jack Helps (16th in under 18), Connor Sullivan (14th in under 14), Faris Akhtar, William Jefcoate-Scholes Isaiah Lewis-Powell (all competing in under 12) and female gymnasts, Summer Harris (47th), Anais Saunders (51st), Kirsten Jonker (63rd) and Lexie Mullins (89th) all competing in the espoir competition on Friday.

PGC head coach Adam Paterson said: ‘The coaches are very proud of the efforts the gymnasts have made with their preparations for this competition.

‘The medals won are a reflection of a lot of hard work that has happened in the previous months.’

All of these gymnasts now set their sights on the British Championships. These take place at the 10,600 capacity M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, starting on Thursday, March 14.