Crete and Walvis Bay dominate artistic gymnastics nationals

Rising and established artistic gymnasts demonstrated their readiness to represent the country at international competitions.

Namibia Gymnastics Federation’s (NGF) artistic gymnastics nationals, recently concluded at Crete Gymnastics Club in Windhoek, saw artistic gymnasts from Crete and Walvis Bay Gymnastics scoop the most trophies.

The competition crowned national champions in the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Senior Olympic category, High Performance 1 to 3, Levels 1 to 7 and the International Development Programme (IDP).

It brought together a total of 134 artistic gymnasts from across the country, displaying grace, strength and precision in pursuit of crucial rankings.

In the men’s artistic gymnastics (abbreviated MAG by insiders), featuring 21 competitors, the hosting club reigned supreme. Crete Gymnastics scooped four of the six available overall titles, with the rest going to Walvis Bay Gymnastics Club.



MAG winners

Crete Gymnastic’s Immanuel Kooper, who reigned supreme in the FIG Senior Olympic category to clinch the overall title, expressed his satisfaction with the achievement. “I feel proud of my performance. Some routines were a bit rough, but I felt confident in my ability to push through,” he said.

Reflecting on the event, Kooper added that the competition provided valuable experience that he would need for next year’s first national qualification event. “Looking ahead, I’m focused on making significant improvements and hopefully achieving my goal of competing in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.”

Meanwhile, his club mates Jayden Ndjitaviua, Ray-Daniel Chipeio and Will Felix Shipepe also delivered solid performances, clinching trophies in Level 5, Level 4 and Level 3, respectively. Walvis Bay Gymnastics’s Darius Botes and Charlton Ipinge showcased exceptional talent, beating Tsumeb Gymnastics to the Level 2 and Level 1 titles, respectively.





WAG winners

In the women’s artistic gymnastics (WAG) division, where all clubs participated with 113 competitors, Crete and Walvis Bay once again dominated the categories, with the latter scooping six titles and the former seven.

In the FIG category, Crete’s Anne-Lee Thorburn impressed the judges, securing the Senior Olympic title. Reflecting on her commanding performance, she expressed delight with the achievement. “Becoming the national champion showed me that my hard work has paid off. I am very grateful to be able to do what I love and to do it competitively,” she said.

Thorburn further emphasised that despite her satisfaction, there is always room for improvement. She said each competition motivates her to push harder in training and she is aiming to qualify for the World Championships and World Cup next year.

Her clubmate Sureshni Andrew secured the FIG Junior Olympic title. She said: “I feel very proud of my performance and becoming the national champion.

“While I achieved most of the goals I set for myself, I also feel like there is more I could have done. However, I am excited to continue improving my skills for next year. What I am looking forward to are the three World Cups we are preparing for.”



HP, Level 1 to 7, IDP winners

The High Performance category was dominated by Crete Mila Barnard (HP3) and Milan Schutte (HP2), with Walvis Bay’s Nina Fortuin claiming the HP1 title.

Levels 7 and Level 6 were dominated by Crete’s Ngai Handura (Level 7) and Auguste Faith Tomas (Level 6), with Walvis Bay’s Anyone du Preez winning the Level 4 title.

Walvis Bay went on to have a clean sweep of the remaining Levels’ national titles - Mieke Sylja Steinmetz (Level 5), La-Rochelle Laynes (Level 3), Paityn Jacobs (Level 2) and Zay-Lee Appolis (Level 1).

Meanwhile, Aryanna Silver Moodley (Crete Gymnastics Club) exhibited excellent skills to win the IDP title.

One of the competition’s organisers, Nadine Jaeger, expressed her delight at the growth of gymnastics in Namibia. “It is wonderful to see the progression of gymnastics over the last few years. The standard is rising, and we hope the sport will continue to grow. We are very proud of our country’s hardworking athletes,” she said.

“We are also happy to have had the participation of two newly established clubs, Emerald Gymnastics from Gobabis and KMA from Oshakati, which competed in the lower levels.”

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