Paris 2024: How to follow the Harrogate district’s OlympiansHarrogate-born gymnast wins silver at European Championships

A Harrogate-born gymnast has won silver at the European Championships.

Harry Hepworth, 20, was part of the Great Britain men’s artistic gymnastic team which competed at the tournament in Rimini, Italy, this past weekend.

Great Britain led heading into the final stage before being pipped to gold by Ukraine, who recorded an overall score of 255.762.

Harry, along with his teammates Courtney Tulloch, Jake Jarman, Joe Fraser and James Hall won silver with a score of 255.249.

Andrew Hepworth, Harry’s dad, told the Stray Ferret that he was delighted with his son’s performance.

He said:

“I am delighted for him. It has been a long journey and it has not been straight forward at all.

“There has been ups and downs. He has been resilient and stuck to it.”

Mr Hepworth added that Harry now has his eye on securing an Olympic spot in Paris this summer.

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Gymnastic gold medalist to visit Beckwithshaw Primary School

A world championship gymnast will be visiting a primary school in the Harrogate district to help boost pupils’ morale and fitness after months of national lockdown.

Gymnastic gold medalist, Jaydon Paddock, will visit Beckwithshaw Primary School this July to talk to pupils and host a sponsored fitness circuit.

Sports for Champions UK which is running the event has also set up a crowdfunder open to the public aimed at boosting the school’s resources. The goal is currently set at £600.

60 percent of funds raised will go towards the areas in the school most in need. The rest will go towards supporting the professional athletes employed by the organisation.

Jaydon is a junior European and World gold medal champion in junior gymnastics and bronze medalist in the Senior World Championships.

He will host an assembly at the school to talk about his success and inspire pupils to lead a healthier, more active lifestyle.

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Hannah Bushell, a representative from the school, said;

“We are very excited to have a sports champion visit our school and it will be a really exciting way to end the school year.”

Sports for Champions UK was founded 11 years ago and brings over 45 professional athletes to schools across the UK to inspire them to be active.

It also aims to support young professional athletes with their training and expenses by raising money for them at the same time.

Knaresborough gymnast inspired by sister for flipping fundraiser

A young gymnast from Knaresborough inspired by her sister has raised more than £1,000 for charity.

Imani Jones, who attends Harrogate Gymnastics Club, wanted to do something positive in lockdown so she decided to do 1,021 flips to help Shine 21, which helps young children with Down syndrome.

Her 11-month-old sister Felicity has Down syndrome so it is a cause close to Imani’s heart.

She started the challenge on Sunday and needs to complete an average of 50 flips a day to reach her target.

Thanks to lots of generous people donating in the first few days, Imani has already beaten her fundraising target of £1,021 and now hopes to raise as much as possible.

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Depending on the type of flip the nine-year-old gymnast performs, it can take between a few minutes to about an hour to complete her daily target.

Chris Jones, Imani’s dad, told the Stray Ferret her daughter started training in gymnastics at the age of four and had never stopped bouncing or flipping.

The money will go towards a £10,000 overall target to set up Shine 21 as a new charity in North Yorkshire.

Donations will go towards providing resources for people with Down syndrome aged below five as well as for speech and language therapy.

To support Imani, click or tap here for more details.

 

Imani Jones with her young sister, who inspired the fundraiser.