Milton Keynes teenager makes history medaling at first ever Trampoline Junior World Championships

A teenage boy from Milton Keynes made history by medaling at the first-ever Trampoline Junior World Championships.

Milton Keynes’ Freddy Liggins, 16, tumbled his way onto the podium, taking the silver medal in the Men’s competition.

He was beaten by a hometown teammate, Birmingham’s Bailey Forbes, his jam-packed routine saw him clinch the Junior World Tumbling Champion title.

Freddy said: “I’m really proud of myself and my coach, we’ve worked so hard to come back from my injury last year so to be back to my best and to take the silver alongside Bailey in first is really special. It’s fantastic to be here on home soil, having support from the crowd really helped too.”

Gymnasts from around the globe came to Birmingham to compete in the competition, with athletes from Great Britain excelling on the junior world stage.

In the junior men’s synchro trampoline competition, Liverpool’s Max Middleton and Tom Gibson topped the leaderboard with an exceptional routine scoring 47.580 and were crowned the first Junior World Champions in the discipline.

Birmingham’s very own Jaeda-Lei Jeffers increased the medal count on the tumble track as she became the Women’s Junior Tumbling Champion. Jaeda-Lei was joined on the podium by Alicia Field, who took the bronze medal. In a final that was full of international talent, the Brits shone and showed everyone how to handle the heat.

Sarah Powell, CEO of British Gymnastics, said: “I would like to say a huge congratulations to all of the gymnasts who took part in the Junior World Championships. It’s an incredible achievement to represent your country at such a young age, and we hope you are all proud of your performances but above all, we hope you have made memories to last a lifetime and enjoyed every moment of this special experience. Thank you to the families, coaches and support staff who have made it possible for these gymnasts to be here today, it is your unwavering dedication that has got them to where they are.”

The championships were held over the weekend at the Utilita Arena.