Milton Keynes schoolgirl is declared best in Britain at gymnastics tumbling

A 16-year-old Milton Keynes gymnast has been declared British Women’s Tumbling Champion after wowing judges over the weekend.

But Naana Oppon is not allowing herself to rest after her success, for she’s set her sights on becoming the best in the world at the Trampoline World Championships in November.

Naana has been tumbling since she was five and started general gymnastics at the age of four. You can watch here in action here.

It costs her parents £700 a month to fund her sporting ambitions and she has told the BBC: "I think about how I'm doing this for them as well because they also deserve a win."

The British championships were held in the Utilita Arena in Birmingham over the weekend and saw 300 elite-level tumblers and trampolinists compete across the three disciplines of Trampoline, Tumbling and DMT.

It was described as a stunning showcase of British gymnastics talent and Naana’s final score of 25.9 landed her at the top of the podium.

The full line-up of British athletes who have been selected to represent their country and take part in the World’s will be announced next week. If selected, Naana will be among the 100 gymnasts from over 50 countries battling it out for the title of World Champion and securing one of the highly sought-after places at the Paris 2024 Games.

The event will also take place at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, where British gymnasts will have the chance to compete in front of a home crowd for the first time in 12 years.

Naana said: “Being named British Champion feels absolutely amazing. I was really excited to compete as a senior this year, so to also walk away being British Champion is just incredible.”

“It’s such an honor sharing the floor with such a talented group of individuals. Everyone was incredibly kind and made me feel very welcome coming up to senior. I’ve loved the experience.”

“I want to say a huge thank you to my teammates, and of course my coach for supporting me. Without them, none of this would have been possible.”

For more information on how to get involved with gymnastics, and to keep up to date with British Gymnastics, visit here.