Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Standard ran the following article about South Marston’s Jade Faulkner.
JADE FAULKNER says Great Britain’s DIY rhythmic gymnasts have shown what can be done, despite being unable to qualify for their Olympic team final. South Marston-based Faulkner and her team finished 12th of 12 teams at Wembley Arena but put on a flawless display for an enthusiastic crowd. And that was quite enough for Faulkner, who sees it as an over-achievement in the circumstances.
“It was a great routine from the girls and I knew that they could do a great job,” said Faulkner, 18, who was a reserve in the final test but performed on Thursday.
“I enjoyed playing my part on the first day and then supporting them to the full today. I think we’ve got every reason to be proud of ourselves because where we’ve come from is no funding, no proper structure, and we owe so much to our coach Sarah Moon. Between us, we’ve done it all ourselves. Sometimes it’s been hard knowing that we haven’t got a great core of support.”
The British girls’performance appeared to justify the team’s presence at the Olympics after challenging the initial decision not to allow them to compete.
Far from being despondent at finishing last in the qualifying round, Faulkner is looking at a bigger picture.
“We’re doing it for the next generation of gymnasts,” she said. “We’re not doing it for ourselves or for the medals. We’re doing it for the sport, which we hope will have had some exposure in this country. That was exactly what we were hoping would happen – that people in this country knew about rhythmic gymnastics and more young girls can come along to take up the sport.
Qualification event:
Other links:
BBC: London 2012 Rhythmic Gymnastics Qualifying Rotation 2
BBC: London 2012 Rhythmic Gymnastics Final
