Charlie clark

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

GBR Gymnast 2021 (Portugal)

2021 European Silver Medalist (Junior Men’s Team)

Pride of Bracknell Team Award 2022

2023 Mid European Gold Medalist & Champion (Italy)

QUESTIONS

What age did you start?

Age 8. One day I just said to my mother I wanted to try out as it looked fun on the tv, she took me down to the club for my first trial and I never looked back!

What do you enjoy about gymnastics?

I enjoy the social aspect of the sport, getting to training with some of my best mates. Every session is a good session especially when there’s humour involved! To add to this I enjoy the challenges I have to overcome when learning new skills or new techniques to improve.

What’s the hardest thing about gymnastics?

The hardest thing about gymnastics is probably the mental side, if you take a step back and look at what your about to perform it can be quite scary sometimes. With the height and speed at which your going you can’t afford to make a wrong move otherwise it could go horribly wrong. However with time you learn how to overcome this slightly and learn how to deal with it.

ADVICE

Never give up, it’s a simple one however as you start to progress and age up you will face more challenges such as small injuries and mental blocks of new bigger skills, you are only young and will have a lot to give, everything takes time and your body will sort itself out soon. Just don’t give up hope on yourself and something you are very talented at doing.

MEMORIES

My first memory will forever be 2021 when I got to compete for team GB in Portugal for the European championships, I was in the junior men’s team and we came 2nd. The whole experience was amazing. From looking back on the tv to see me competing for Great Britain all the way to me getting stuck in the lift before the party on the last day!

My 2nd memory of gymnastics was when I did my first ever double back on the tumble track, I was so excited to do this skill for the first time and progress into more bigger and higher skills.