Paterson pleased with '˜unprecedented' show from PGC men's squad

SUCCESS in the South Region Championships and the London Open has put Portsmouth Gymnastics Club's boys' artistic squad on a high.
Portsmouth Gymnastics ClubPortsmouth Gymnastics Club
Portsmouth Gymnastics Club

They are now looking ahead to performing on the national stage this month.

The junior boys competed in the South Region Championship held in Milton Keynes.

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It was a spectacular weekend for the club (PGC) with three overall titles.

It's exciting times for Portsmouth gymnastsIt's exciting times for Portsmouth gymnasts
It's exciting times for Portsmouth gymnasts

The winner of level four was Felix Coomber and he also won the Jim Newell Trophy for minimal execution deductions off his apparatus scores.

This award is especially significant to the club as Jim Newell was a devoted coach to Portsmouth & Pitt Street for many decades.

Level three overall winner was Connor Sullivan.

And a very important result for PGC was in the under-eight elite category where Isaiah Lewis Powell secured the overall title with a faultless performance across all apparatus.

It's exciting times for Portsmouth gymnastsIt's exciting times for Portsmouth gymnasts
It's exciting times for Portsmouth gymnasts
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This shows the strength of the young elite gymnasts being coached at Portsmouth.

Overall the competition was a huge success with Ethan Jackson Lowe and Joshua Windebank also taking runner up positions on the day.

PGC will have six boys representing the south in the nationals.

The London Open is another prestigious competition and PGC collected eight medals.

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Head coach Adam Paterson watched his squad achieve their best set of results so far at PGC.

Now he is looking forward to seeing what more they can do.

‘These are unprecedented results for the PGC men’s squad,’ he said.

‘I am pleased with the progress made by our squad through 2016 and look forward to seeing what could be ahead in the future months.’

In the three-day London competition, Portsmouth had 12 boys representing the club across six different levels.

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Samuel Owen finished 29th out of more than 60 gymnasts and was sixth on vault at level one (under-nines, while Ethan Jackson-Lowe finished 10th all-around and was sixth on pommel and fifth on rings.

At level two (under-10) Louie Knowles finished 54th.

Connor Sullivan took fifth place all-around and the silver medal on ring in the level three (under-11) competition.

Dylan Harris finished 31st with a good consistent routine.

At level four (under-12s) Joshua Windebank and Felix Coomber finished fourth and eighth respectively.

Coomber took the gold on rings, while Windebank earned gold medals on floor and vault, and he collected bronze medals on rings, parallel bars and high bar.

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In the final sessions of the weekend, under-eight gymnast Isaiah-Lewis Powell finished seventh overall in his first level one elite grade competition and he took the bronze medal for a brilliant vault.

James Carmichael had his first taste of elite grade competition in level two (under-10) and he finished 27th all around with a display that highlighted his excellent progress.