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Medal glut as girls rise to the Challenge

In top form: Wilson launches off the vault in a spectacular move at the National Training Centre in St David’s as her team-mates look on

Bermuda basked in an impressive medal haul after strong performances at the fourth annual Bermuda International Gymnastics Challenge at the National Training Centre in St David’s on Saturday.

Competing against 75 overseas competitors from New York and Pennsylvania, the Island’s gymnasts won the Bronze division, while the senior team sparkled during the Platinum level competition, finishing first, second and third in vault, parallel bars, balance beam and floor events.

The Bermuda Bronze, nine to ten-year-olds, enjoyed a clean sweep, capturing the gold, silver and bronze medals in the all around category.

Jezhari Talbot was the top scorer with 36.450 points, with T’aja Williams second on 35.600 and Sanaa Burgess third with 34.250.

Talbot and Williams also split the individual gold medals, with vault and beam titles going to Talbot and bars and floor to Williams. Other notable finishes included Amari Trott’s silver medal on vault (9.2) and Yve Smith’s silver on bars (8.8).

The second clean sweep of the day for Bermuda came in the individual Bronze vault event for the 10 to 11-year-old age group, which had Daria Symonds, 9.100, Logan Watson-Brown, 8.850, and Brianna Ray 8.800 on the podium.

Watson-Brown grabbed the gold on bars with an 8.4 and Daria Symonds won the all around category with 34.250, followed by Brianna Ray in second with 33.900.

Also in the 10 to 11-year- age group were Mya Furbert-Jacobs and Rhianna Evelyn, whose top finishes came on beam, second with 8.75, and floor, third with 8.8.

In the Bronze age group 12 to 13 year olds, Kayode George won the vault with an 8.9, Holly Wakely earned silver on beam with an 8.5, and Naomi Proctor came third on vault with an 8.4.

In the Copper level, NYC Elite took top honours with 108.10 points overall, with Bermuda second on 104.60 and Gymnastics of York next with 99.40 points.

Four Bermuda gymnasts competed in the Copper 1 level, which is designed for first-time competitors only.

In the eight to ten-year-old division, Ella Tear placed first with a 33.0, and Bailey Boyd came third with 32.5. Gabby Turchiaro and Bethany Cooze were sixth, 31.55, and seventh, 30.5, respectively in the 7 to 8-year-old group.

In the Copper 2 level, for years nine to ten, Annabelle Miller won bars with an 8.8 and Laura Hupman placed second on balance beam thanks to an 8.7. Cimbryt Smith earned golds on vault, scoring 9.3, and beam, 8.5, in the 14+ category.

In the afternoon session, which included the Silver, Gold and Platinum levels, Gymnastics of York took home the gold in the team event, with Bermuda capturing the silver and Hill’s Gymnastics the bronze.

Top finishes in the Silver level nine to ten age group came from Williams on floor, who came first with 9.45, and Jezhari Talbot on bars, who won gold with 7.4. In the 11 to 12 age category, Maya Malpas won silver on bars, scoring 8.0, while in the 13 to 14 year olds, Kinae Dowling and Trinity Wilson finished second, 9.2, and third, 9.0, respectively on vault.

Bermuda had another medal sweep in the individual Gold Vault, 12 to 14-year-old event, as Tomei Talbot, 8.500, Ava Marshall, 8.000, and Gianna Webbe, 7.900, captured first, second and third places respectively.

The senior Bermuda team gymnasts in the Platinum level were outstanding, capturing first, second and third in the individual vault, uneven parallel bars, balance beam and floor exercise events.

Samantha Soares nailed her beam routine for first place with a score of 8.55, while Anna Francoeur earned her highest mark on beam as well with an 8.3 for third.

Zantae Dill, 34.400, clinched gold in the all around category with Tabytha Hofheins, 33.700, taking the silver and Gabby Vincent the bronze, 33.500.

Francoeur is a picture of concentration as she goes to work on the beam during the international meet