Jessica Gadirova named Young Sportswoman of the Year
Plus, Thema Williams opens gymnastics school and a look back at Team China on the beam at the 2020 Tokyo Games
Artistic Gymnastics
2022 World floor exercise champion Jessica Gadriova continues to collect her hardware.
The 18-year-old, who helped Team GB win team bronze at last summer’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, was named the Young Sportswoman of the Year by the Sunday Times.
The award comes just weeks after a historic performance at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, England.
There, she helped GB to its best ever finish in the team event, second, which earned the squad a team berth to the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Individually, Gadirova had a standout event, as well, becoming her nation’s first woman to claim an all-around medal when she finished third behind Brazilian Rebeca Andrade and the U.S.’s Shilese Jones. She capped her championships off with a gold medal on the floor exercise.
“I’m just so relieved and just so shocked – I can’t believe it," said Gadirova after taking gold. “When I focus on the dance it takes my mind away from the crowd and the tumbles and the leaps, and it makes me feel alive. That’s what I am, I love to perform and floor is one of my favourite pieces to do. It gives me such an amazing feeling.”
Gadirova’s twin sister, Jennifer, is also a member of Team GB.
Thema Williams opening gymnastics school
Trinidad and Tobago’s Thema Williams is taking on a new endeavor as she opens a gymnastics training school, Thema Williams Athletic Academy, in Maraval.
Williams, who starred in the Olympic Channel original series ‘Her Game,’ hopes to build “a safe space for all-rounded childhood athletic development,” according to a press release about the opening.
The school will offer a wide range of classes, including Mummy and Me and open gym sessions.
As part of ‘Her Game,’ Williams said, “One of the most common misconceptions about the sport of gymnastics is that gymnastics requires a body type. In reality, gymnastics creates a body type. The training regime that we engage in is what sculpts and molds our bodies.”
She’ll look to put that into practice, as the gym sports the motto, “What We Do Not Have, We Build. Whatever We Imagine, We Create.”
From the vault...
This week, we take a look back at Team China on the balance beam during qualifying from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 2019 world all-around bronze medalist Tang Xijing led the team in the rotation, earning a 14.333 as the squad posted the top score on the event. Individual competitor Guan Chenchen earned a 14.933 to qualify first into the apparatus final. She went on to win the gold medal on the event with Tang taking silver.