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Bahrain's gymnasts made a triumphant return from the fourth GCC Gymnastics competition held at the Dubai Olympic Gymnastics Club last weekend, writes David Axtell.
The CHAOSS representatives raised the bar to new heights with a massive haul of 60 medals, including a stunning 22 gold medals. After a slow start the CHAOSS team vaulted past the other four participating clubs to take regional honours.
The competitors included 34 boys and 77 girls representing five clubs from around the region. Bahrain took a contingent of 35 gymnasts aged between six and 18, some competing for the first time. The CHAOSS squad was boosted by a number of members of the Bahrain national team who train regularly at CHAOSS.
Across the board the competition was fierce although, given the close scores, the gymnasts eschewed the highest sporting values. Hiding determination behind beaming grins throughout the weekend the success of all athletes was widely applauded and cheered.
The Bahrain squad was supported by a number of coaches, judges and technical advisors, namely Cara Mattias (manager), Debbie Payne, Simona Klatourova, Ricky Fuertes, Allen Russell, Nazeeh Hassan, Monia Lazrak, Lauren Coombes and Ina Akle.
The star performer was George Jackson who swept the floor with five gold medals, with Hasan Nazeeh close behind in the honours table with four gold and two silver medals. Ensuring the girls were not to be outdone, Michaela Sandy took the top spot in her category by securing three gold medals, a silver and a bronze.
Jackson showed tremendous consistency across all disciplines scoring highest on the vault and parallel bars with 9.70 each. He swept the floor with the competition on the floor routine with a winning margin of nearly a full point, helping towards a two-point gap in the overall classification. He saved his hardest work on the day for climbing to the top spot on the podium five times!
Michaela was almost as consistent, claiming a podium finish in four disciplines. Gold on the asymmetric bars with a massive score of 9.65 and on the floor with 9.20, ensured Michaela took gold in the overall classification by nearly a full point from fellow CHAOSS gymnast Alexandra Durrant. Fortunately, her mother, a nurse, was on hand to treat any injuries resulting from carrying her medal haul!
The CHAOSS gymnasts showed tremendous consistency across all age groups and disciplines, despite taking a number of young athletes to gain confidence and experience. Typifying this was seven-year-old Aya Lazrak, who secured silver (vault) and bronze (asymmetric bars) in the category with the largest number of competitors (level 3 junior aged 8 and under), despite having only six weeks to learn the specific routines.
Organiser, coach and manager, Cara Mattias said: "I am really pleased with the performance of all my gymnasts. Some were competing for the first time, others had routines changed only weeks before the competition while some participants are relative veterans. However, without exception, all did themselves, CHAOSS and Bahrain proud.
"I would also like to thank our generous sponsors, Rowan and Michelle Davis, Charmaine Mencel, Charles Russell, BNP Paribas and Full Commercial Bank. Their kindness and support ensured that some gymnasts could compete from the national association who would not otherwise have been able to travel.
"They also ensured that the whole squad was kitted with full tracksuits and rucksacks. This gave our gymnasts the confidence to take them into competition and succeed so spectacularly."
