World-class Hemel athlete visits Aylesbury for showcase event championing gymnastics

A world-class Hemel Hempstead athlete was the special guest at a gymnastics showcase in Aylesbury.

GymFusion was held at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre and gymnasts from across the UK flocked to Bucks for the event.

It was designed to promote a series of exciting, creative performances from gymnasts of all ages and abilities.

UK governing body, British Gymnastics, organised the event, which allows gymnasts to perform in a encouraging non-competitive environment.

This year was the first time British Gymnastics have hosted the event in Aylesbury. Different forms of the sport were showcased at the event which saw Acrobatic, Aerobic and TeamGym performances.

In total, 19 clubs took part in two shows, with a total of 23 performances focused on this year’s theme – The Movies.

Ondine Achampong was this year’s high profile guest, the Hemel Hempstead-based athlete recently competed for Great Britain at the World Artistic Championships in Antwerp.

She said: “It was amazing to be a part of GymFusion Aylesbury, to see so many gymnasts coming together and having so much fun performing was incredible to see. Gymnastics is definitely a sport for everyone, and you can see that GymFusion unites whole communities. The performances by all the clubs were so impressive and unique, everyone should be really proud of what they achieved together - it definitely inspired me!”

Beth from Loughborough Acrobatics Gymnastics Coach, who assisted one of the performing teams, added: “As a club we have attended GymFusion events for over a decade and continue to look forward to them each year. The variety of creative performances displayed in Aylesbury were a joy to watch and the team spirit shown by all gymnasts created an amazing atmosphere for the day.”

British Gymnastics has provided more information about the showcase online here.

Aylesbury’s influence on modern gymnastics can be seen with the Gadirova twins, Jessica and Jennifer, who train at Aylesbury Gymnastic Academy.

Both are Olympic medalists, with Jessica also becoming a World Champion last year two. Her achievements at the World Championships in Liverpool also saw her shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2022.