Our Top 5 World Championship memories
Our top 5 memories from the previous World Gymnastics Championships
The countdown is on for the annual World Gymnastics Championships 2022 and here at Beth Tweddle Gymnastics we are all extremely excited to watch some of our favourite gymnasts go head-to-head with incredible feats of balance, strength, and co-ordination, competing to take top spot and be crowned 2022 World Champion.
Do you want to learn more about the 2022 World Championships? Click HERE for our exclusive guide
To celebrate this years event being held in Beth's hometown of Liverpool we have compiled a list of our top 5 memories from previous World Championship events for you to enjoy-
2006- Beth’s, and GB’s, first World Championship Gold Medal!!
After winning gold on the uneven bars at the British and European Championships in 2006, Beth was one to watch heading into the 2006 Worlds in Aarhus, Denmark.
But Great Britain had never won a gold medal at a World Championship so Beth would have to break new ground to be stand atop of the podium!
After competing in the all-round event, the final of the uneven bars proved to be a historic moment for GB gymnastics as Beth scored an incredible 16.200 and won her, and Great Britain’s, first ever World Gymnastics Championship Gold medal, inspiring a new generation of gymnasts that will go on to create more memorable GB gymnastics moments over the next 16 years, and beyond!
2009- Golden floor routine!
After coming tantalisingly close to an Olympic medal in 2008, Beth went into the 2009 event with a determination to prove she was the best in the world, and after finishing first on both the uneven bars and floor in that year’s European Championships the scene was set for a historic World Champs in London later in the year.
Renowned for the uneven bars, Beth triumphed this year in the floor final with an amazing score of 14.650. As a truly monumental moment in British gymnastics, seeing the whole country hold its breath whilst Beth landed her final tumble, and the subsequent eruption of noise from the adoring home London crowd goes down as one our favourite ever gymnastics moments!
2013- The start of the Simone era
In 2022 it is hard to imagine that less than 10 years ago in Antwerp, Belgium, not many people outside of gymnastics circles knew the name Simone Biles. At her first World Championships event, and at the age of just 16, Biles took the world of gymnastics by storm, being the first American female in over 20 years to qualify for the all-round event along with an amazing 4 individual event finals.
She would go on to win Gold in the all-round title (by almost a full point!), Gold on the floor exercise, Silver on the vault and Bronze on balance beam (she ‘only’ finished forth in the uneven bars final!). 2013 was the start of a journey that has culminated in no less than 25 World Championship medals to date, amazingly 19 of them Gold, the most by any gymnast ever…what will 2022 have in store for Simone?
2017- Max defence
After making history by becoming the first British male gymnast to win a gold medal in an individual World Championship event in Glasgow, Max Whitlock was on top of the world when it came to pommel horse. Known for his smooth transitions and flawless execution, Max entered the 2017 World Championships on a high after winning 2 Olympic Gold medals in the 2016 Rio games, and he didn’t disappoint, becoming the first British gymnast to successfully defend a world title with an iconic pommel horse routine that went down in history!
One more interesting and unusual memory from the World Champs….
2015- How did they all fit on the podium?
In one of the most bizarre and memorable situations in the history of the World Gymnastics Championships, 2015 saw 4 gymnasts sharing the gold medal in the uneven bars final!
American Madison Kocian, Russians Viktoria Komova and Daria Spiridonova, and China’s Fan Yilin all scored 15.366 points in an unprecedented twist of events during the event held in Glasgow. The organisers arranged for 4 gold medals to be awarded and all 3 national anthems to be played during the award ceremony. Without the ability to raise 3 flags to the same height in the arena, the officials also had to hold 3 separate flags aloft during the ceremony. Wow! Surely this won’t happen again during the 2022 event…can it?
Do you want to learn more about the 2022 World Championships? Click HERE for our exclusive guide
