Olympic dream: American gymnast Simone Biles, winner of the women’s all-round gold, has been one of the stand-out stars of the first week of the Paris Games
As American gymnast Simone Biles was wowing the sports world by winning the Olympic all-round gold medal in Paris, so two British stars of the sport were wowing young New Addington hopefuls with a surprise visit to their club.
Surprise visit: gymnast twins Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova posed for photos with star-struck members of Croydon Allstarz this week
Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, winners of 15 Olympic, world and European medals between them, took time out of their packed training schedules to choreograph a new artistic floor routine with the young, excited gymnasts of the Croydon Allstarz Gymnastics Club before enjoying a meet and greet with children and staff, in a visit organised by British Gymnastics.
The Gadirova twins, 19, missed out on selection for the Paris Games due to injury, but hope that they have done their bit to inspire a future generation of gymnasts while their Team GB teammates continue to shine at the Olympics.
Jessica Gadirova said: “I absolutely loved meeting the children of Allstarz Gymnastics Club this morning – their passion and excitement made for an amazing session and I hope our story inspires them to chase their own dreams.
“Jennifer and I want to do everything we can to help the team over in Paris, so we’ve loved rallying up support from home as we look forward to what could be a very exciting few days for Team GB.”
Jennifer Gadirova said: “The girls this morning reminded me of Jess and I back in the day, so it was a really heartwarming experience.
Starz assembled: the young members and coaching staff of the New Addington club gather with Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova this week
“It was so nice to meet so many new faces who clearly love gymnastics. I hope that we’ve reminded them of where gymnastics can take you if you work hard and believe in yourself.”
Claire Ongley, the head coach at Allstarz Gymnastics Club, which operates in a purpose-built gymnasium at Meridian High School, said: “It’s so important for the children of today to have role models who inspire them to chase their dreams, so Jessica and Jennifer’s visit means a lot to everyone here at Allstarz.
“For people who’ve achieved as much as them at such a young age to make the time to visit our club shows exactly the kind of people they are and the fantastic work British Gymnastics are doing to inspire a future generation.”
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