King's Girls’ Division pupil Jennifer has been rewarded for her best year yet with an invitation to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. To add to her Junior English and British Schools All Around titles Jenni won the Junior British Bars competition last month and is currently ranked 8th in Europe.
As a result of these outstanding performances, Jenni has been invited by the Technical Director of Women's Gymnastics, Adrian Stann, to attend as part of a scheme to familiarise promising athletes with the Olympic environment ahead of the 2012 Games in London.
Jenni is pictured here with her British Championship winnings from last month. She had a terrific weekend at the British Women's Gymnastics Championships in Guildford in late June. As well as winning the Bars final by a wide margin and so becoming Junior British Bars Champion, she won Silver on Beam, Silver on the Vault and Bronze on Floor.
This follows an outstanding performance in April when Jenni went to the European Championships in Clermont Ferrand, France. 25 countries were competing with up to four Junior gymnasts and Jenni was ranked in 8th place overall. This is the second highest Junior GB rank achieved since the European Gymnastics Championships began in 1938.
Jenni said, 'I'm absolutely delighted to go to the Olympics this year as an observer . I hope to learn enough so that if I am a competitor in 2012 I will be familiar with an event that large.”
Jenni will also be able to support City of Liverpool Club team mates Beth Tweddle and Hannah Whelan who are competing in Beijing this summer. Gymnastics consistently gains the highest Olympic TV audiences of all 28 sports, even beating Track and Field in popularity.
Jenni is coached at the the UK's official top club, The City of Liverpool Gymnastics Club. Her coach is Amanda Kirby, who also the coaches British Number One Beth Tweddle. Jenni trains 5 days a week. See www.jenniferpinches.com for more information.
