Visions Gymnastics Club [https://www.visionsgymnastics.co.za/] took top honours at this year’s High Performance National Gymnastics Championships held in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal in late June.
A group of 17 gymnasts gave it their all with Tania Luckay, Nicole Botes, Schantelle van der Merwe, Henri Rothmann and Muhammad Khaalid Mia among the top achievers. The club brought home a remarkable 41 medals while three gymnasts were crowned new national champions in their respective age groups.
High-performance coach and club owner of Visions Gymnastics, Adele Heine lauded the gymnasts saying, “It is always rewarding to see that the hours of training these young gymnasts put in every day pays off.
“We are extremely proud of all our gymnasts and coaches.”
Tania, who suffered a serious ankle injury that kept her off her feet for two weeks before nationals, won gold on vault in the Junior Olympic section and bronze on bars, and ended fifth overall.
Nicole, even though diagnosed with Encephalitis and advised not to compete, finished in a gutsy eight place overall, showing yet again that the mind is stronger than the body.
Schantelle competed well in the high school section and finished with a gold medal and overall sixth place whereas Henri had a super competition finishing with one gold and four silver medals, and second place overall. He was selected into the SAGF ZONE 6 team to compete in Zimbabwe later this year.
Muhammad also showed why Visions gymnasts are tops. He won his section with a record margin and claimed four gold and two silver medals to finish first overall. He has been selected to represent South Africa later this year in the Czech Republic as part of a build-up plan to prepare for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games qualification.
To top it Visions’ club captains Michael Makings and Bianca Mann competed in the senior Olympic sections. They represented the club well and Bianca finished with two bronze and two silver medals and overall in third place. She did this in the midst of her matric exams, so it truly is a remarkable performance.
Michael was crowned South Africa’s top male gymnast, claiming a total of eight medals going with his title. He and coach Derick Scholtz were selected to represent South Africa at the 2013 World championships in Antwerp, Belgium in September.
The club is getting ready for the next series of competitions for the younger levels, beginning on Saturday 20 July.
• Details: Vision Gymnastics Club on 011 475 7198 or visit their website www.visionsgymnastics.co.za. [https://www.visionsgymnastics.co.za/].
