Beth Tweddle retires and launches legacy programme

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On the anniversary of her greatest triumph at the London 2012 Olympics, Beth Tweddle MBE, Britain’s greatest ever gymnast, returned to the Olympic Village to announce her retirement and to launch the first athlete-led legacy programme on the London Olympic site.
Beth’s impressive career has seen her become a triple World Champion, Commonwealth Champion and Olympic Bronze medalist for the uneven bars at London 2012.

On her retirement Beth said:

“It’s been a hard decision to make; gymnastics has been and always will be a massive part of my life. Following the Olympics I’ve had a lot of projects on and recently I’ve had a bit more time to get back into the gym and decide whether I could put 100% into it and I know now deep down I can’t commit to the hours and training to remain at the very top.

I’m going to miss being part of the team, my teammates, my personal coach Amanda Reddin, the buzz of the competition and achieving your dreams. There are so many people to thank for helping me, the biggest one is Amanda who has always been at my side, nothing could have been achieved without her, British Gymnastics who have supported me throughout, of course my family who have always been there for me and the British fans who have been unbelievable.

I don’t think my achievements will ever really sink in but when I do look back I can be very proud of what I’ve done and how I’ve done it.

I guess if there was anything I wanted to pass on from my time in the sport it would be that you should never let any obstacle get in your way. With hard work there’s always a way to succeed and always a way to achieve your dreams.”

Details about Beth’s legacy programme were unveiled at Chobham Academy, a new school, which opens next month in East Village, the new residential development on the site of the Olympic Village. The school, which overlooks where Beth stayed during the Olympics, will host a Beth Tweddle Academy, part of a national roll out of programmes run by Total Gymnastics, set up by Beth, and fellow Olympian Steve Parry, to provide the opportunity for as many children as possible to take up gymnastics, within schools, leisure centres and gymnastics clubs to help develop the sport around the country.

Chobham Academy, working closely with Total Gymnastics, will provide gymnastics for children aged 2-14 years old. The programme combines the Gym Stars programme for 2 to 8 years and the British Gymnastics Proficiency programme for 8 to 14 years.

Total Gymnastics offer sessions in a non-competitive environment, providing boys and girls of all abilities the opportunity to learn key fundamental core skills. There are currently 11 Beth Tweddle Academies and 46 leisure centres running the Gym Stars programme, meaning that over 5,000 children are currently being given the opportunity to try gymnastics across the UK.

On her Legacy programme Beth commented:

“I want to give every child an opportunity to try gymnastics. I had to try a lot of sports before I found gymnastics, this way children can have a go; they might love it, they might hate it, but at least we’ve given them the opportunity to try it”.

Sportsister, The Women’s Sports Magazine

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