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A sold-out crowd gathered to watch the final day of the 2017 British Gymnastics Championships, which concluded Sunday at Liverpool's Echo Arena. Pictured: Junior all-around silver medalist Amelie Morgan won two silvers and a gold in finals.

A sold-out crowd gathered to watch the final day of the 2017 British Gymnastics Championships, which concluded Sunday at Liverpool's Echo Arena.

British Gymnastics reported a record number of 15,835 spectators in attendance over the three days of competition, which included sell-out crowds for Saturday's senior all-around finals and Sunday's event finals. The competition, which crowned junior and senior all-around and event champions, drew more than 205 gymnasts representing 63 gymnastics clubs across the UK.

The national championships in Liverpool also included the "Disability" Masters, an interesting concept that should be seriously explored by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) as a possibility for inclusion as a Paralympic sport.

The competition ended Sunday with the apparatus finals for junior and senior women, and the "Masters" finals for men, which included the top gymnasts on each event from both junior and senior competition. The Masters finals gave several younger gymnasts the chance to compete head-to-head with the top seniors in the country. Several international competitors who competed as guests during the all-around competition were eligible for medals in the Masters finals.

New senior women's all-around champion Ellie Downie (Notts Gymnastics Academy) added event titles on vault and uneven bars, but elected to skip finals on beam and floor exercise to rest up for next Saturday's FIG World Cup in London. She scored a massive 9.750 Execution score on her double-twisting Yurchenko first vault. Downie, who has been training a Cheng Fei, stepped over the line on her layout Podkopayeva second vault for an average of 14.437. After falling in the all-around, she hit bars in finals (Maloney uprise Hindorff; toe-full to piked Tkatchev to Pak; Van Leeuwen; stuck double layout; 14.600/5.9).

The outstanding Georgia-Mae Fenton (East London), who resembles 2002 world beam champion Ashley Postell, won the silver medal with an impressive 9.075 Execution score, with a brilliant original Ricna-half to Yezhova combination (14.575/5.5). Two-time Olympian Becky Downie, Ellie's elder sister, missed her eponymous skill (Stalder-piked Tkatchev) but managed the bronze. (14.025/5.9).

All-around champion Ellie Downie (Notts Gymnastics) won vault and uneven bars on Sunday.

Phoebe Turner (The Academy), who finished fifth all-around, won the balance beam title (12.575/4.8) over St Tydfil's Latalia Bevan (no relation to Olympian Brinn Bevan).

All-around bronze medalist Maisie Methuen (pronounced Me-thune) of Phoenix Gymnastics won floor exercise (tucked full-in; double pike; double-twisting layout front; 13.425/4.7) over Olympian Claudia Fragapane, who stumbled out of bounds on her third pass (double layout; Arabian double front; triple twist; double pike; 13.150/5.2).

In the junior women's competition, all-around champion Taeja James (Birmingham) picked up three more golds on vault, uneven bars and balance beam. She fell off beam on her wolf turn and settled for silver. Though James dominated the event, the depth of talent was noteworthy, particularly young gymnasts hailing from newer clubs now capable of producing international-level gymnasts. All-around runner-up Amelie Morgan (Slough), who impressed in Liverpool with her elegance and clean lines, took gold on beam (switch leap, switch half; front aerial; straddle jump-half done sideways; ff ff layout; switch leap full; RO 2 1/2; 13.450/5.2) in finals after silvers on vault and uneven bars.

Zoe Simmons (The Academy) won silver on floor (nice running double front opening pass). All-around bronze medalist Jolie Ruckley (Cardiff Olympic) won three more bronze medals for Wales on bars, beam and floor.

In the men's Masters finals, a trio of gymnasts representing Ireland picked up titles. Andrew Smith, who trains at Notts Gymnastics, won floor exercise (14.225/5.6). Junior European silver medalist Rhys McClenaghan (Rathgael) continued his ascension with the gold medal on pommel horse (14.900/6.1) over three-time world championships medalist Prashanth Sellathurai (13.775/6.0). Sellathurai trains at Milton Keyes Gymnastics in Buckinghamshire, where he moved to attend medical school.

Lisburn's Ewan McAteer — who will turn 18 in July like McClenaghan — won the vault title over senior all-around silver medalist Dominick Cunningham (Birmingham)

Courtney Tulloch (Pegasus) won still rings (14.950/6.4) over new all-around champion Joe Fraser of Birmingham (13.575/5.1). Former British team member Reiss Beckford, who now represents Jamaica, won the bronze (13.375/5.3.)

On parallel bars, James Hall brought Pegasus a second title (13.825/5.8). Fraser, Joshua Nathan and Donell Osbourne swept the medals for Birmingham on high bar.

Gymnastics returns to London's O2 Arena, site of the 2012 Olympic Games, during next Saturday's World Cup event, the third and final all-around stop in the 2017 series. Ellie Downie, Olympic floor bronze medalist Amy Tinkler and Olympians Sam Oldham and Brinn Bevan will represent Great Britain. Ukrainian star Oleg Vernyayev headlines the field, which also includes world vault bronze medalist Donnell Whittenburg (United States) and Olympians Tabea Alt (Germany), Angelina Melnikova (Russia) and Eddy Yusof (Switzerland). First-year senior Victoria Nguyen (United States), the latest talent from Liang Chow, will make her senior international debut at the City of Jesolo Trophy, April 1-2 in Italy, before heading to London to compete in the World Cup.

External Link: British Gymnastics

2017 British Gymnastics Championships
March 26, Liverpool, England

Masters Floor Exercise Final				D	E	ND	Score
1.	Andrew Smith		Notts Gymnastics Academy	5.6	8.625		14.225
2.	Hamish Carter		Birmingham	5.4	8.525		13.925
3.	Jamie Lewis		Woking	5.4	8.375		13.775
4.	Matthew Boardman		Notts Gymnastics Academy	5.2	7.775	0.3	12.675
5.	Joe Fraser		Birmingham	5.6	6.800	0.1	12.300
6.	Dominick Cunningham		Birmingham	6.0	6.125		12.125
7.	Josh Cook		Barry YMCA	5.3	6.800	0.1	12.000
8.	Joshua Nathan		Birmingham	5.2	6.575		11.775

Masters Pommel Horse Final				D	E	ND	Score
1.	Rhys McClenaghan		Rathgael Gymnastics & Tumbling Club	6.1	8.800		14.900
2.	Prashanth Sellathurai		Milton Keynes Gym	6.0	7.775		13.775
3.	Korben Fellows		Birmingham	5.2	8.475		13.675
4.	Jac Davies		Swansea Gymnastics Centre	6.1	7.150		13.250
5.	Jamie Lewis		Woking	6.4	6.500		12.900
6.	James Hall		Pegasus	5.9	6.775		12.675
7.	William Trood		Loughborough Students	4.4	8.000		12.400
8.	Sam Oldham		Notts Gymnastics Academy	5.1	6.875		11.975

Masters Still Rings Final				D	E	ND	Score
1.	Courtney Tulloch		Pegasus	6.4	8.550		14.950
2.	Joe Fraser		Birmingham	5.1	8.475		13.575
3.	Reiss Beckford		South Essex	5.3	8.075		13.375
4.	James Hall		Pegasus	5.4	7.750		13.150
5.	Dominick Cunningham		Birmingham	5.1	7.925		13.025
6.	Elliott Cooper		Manchester	6.0	6.850		12.850
7.	Joe Cemlyn-Jones		Falcons Gym Academy	4.3	8.325		12.625
8.	Jamie Lewis		Woking	4.4	8.100		12.500

Masters Vault Final				D	E	ND	Score	Average
1.	Ewan McAteer		Lisburn Salto	5.2	9.125		14.325	14.037
				4.8	8.950		13.750
2.	Dominick Cunningham		Birmingham	5.2	8.775	0.1	13.875	13.912
				4.8	9.150		13.950
3.	Gabriel Hannah		Loughborough Students	4.8	8.750		13.550	13.800
				5.2	8.850		14.050
4.	Hamish Carter		Birmingham	4.8	9.175		13.975	13.700
				4.0	9.425		13.425
5.	Donell Osbourne		Birmingham	4.4	9.125	0.1	13.425	13.450
				4.8	8.775	0.1	13.475
6.	Sam Mostowfi		Pegasus	4.8	9.200		14.000	13.100
				3.2	9.000		12.200
7.	Reiss Beckford		South Essex	4.8	7.750		12.550	13.050
				4.6	9.050	0.1	13.550
8.	David Weir		Glasgow	4.8	7.950	0.3	12.450	12.562
				4.0	8.675		12.675

Masters High Bar Final				D	E	ND	Score
1.	Joe Fraser		Birmingham	5.2	8.675		13.875
2.	Joshua Nathan		Birmingham	4.4	8.700		13.100
3.	Donell Osbourne		Birmingham	4.5	8.575		13.075
4.	Jamie Lewis		Woking	4.8	8.225		13.025
5.	Gabriel Hannah		Loughborough Students	4.4	8.425		12.825
6.	Kevin Cerda		Birmingham	5.4	6.975		12.375
7.	William Trood		Loughborough Students	4.1	7.125		11.225
8.	Dominick Cunningham		Birmingham	5.3	5.875		11.175

International Gymnast magazine's recent coverage of British gymnasts includes:
"British Catalyst" - Daniel Keatings interview (March 2017)
"British Breakouts" - Maisie Methuen/Alice Kinsella interviews (December 2016)
"Mounting His Challenge" - Louis Smith interview (March 2016)
"Britain's Best" - Amy Tinkler/Catherine Lyons interviews (June 2015)
Lisa Mason interview (May 2015)
"Britain's New Bombshell" - Claudia Fragapane interview (December 2014)
Barry Collie interview (July/August 2014)
"A Sorority of Success" - Becky Downie/Ellie Downie interviews (June 2014)
Becky Downie, Whitlock, Nile Wilson and Brinn Bevan on cover (June 2014)
"Branching Out" - Rebecca Tunney profile (May 2014)
"European Brilliance" - Ruby Harrold interview (September 2013)
"Lord Max" - Max Whitlock interview (June 2013)

To order back issues, or subscribe to the print and/or digital edition of International Gymnast magazine, click here.

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