Kristof Willerton, Andover Gym Clubs senior tumbler, has had an amazing year and has now topped this off with becoming the first male winner from Great Britain to ever win the World Tumbling Title.
Following on from last year’s Bronze medal at the senior European Championships Kristof started the year by becoming the first gymnast to win the British Championships Senior title for 4 years in a row, an outstanding achievement given he is only 20 years of age and a full-time undergraduate at Oxford University.
Kristof – who has been training with Andover Gym Club for 8 years – combines his gymnastics training with undergraduate studies at Oxford, travelling by train in the week to work at various gyms around the country.
Once every 4 years, following an Olympic Games, the World Games is held, widely regarded as the Olympics for non-Olympic sports. This is a world level event featuring 26 sports from over 40 countries. This year the Games was held in the city of Callie, Colombia.
Only the top ten gymnasts per discipline in the world are invited and Kristof competed for Great Britain. In trying conditions with temperatures of over 40 degrees, he tumbled brilliantly and came home with the Bronze medal – equalling the highest position ever achieved by a British gymnast.
Summer holidays were put on hold as he worked towards the World Championships held last week in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Kristof captained the GB team, and led them to the Silver Team medal, a great achievement, but then went one better, winning the Senior World Championships and becoming the first British gymnast to ever become World Champion in Men’s Tumbling with 74.9 points – winning by 0.1 point.
Andover Gymnastics Club said” “All the coaches and gymnasts at the club send Kristof our congratulations. It is a fitting reward for 8 years of dedication and hard work.”
To find out more about Andover Gymnastics Club, see their website at www.andovergymclub.co.uk
Excellent stuff!