Cayman’s debut at the CARIFTA Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Trinidad and Tobago was a success as the seven-member squad returned home with nine medals.
Coach Madalina Gutu of Apex Gymnastics, who had prepared the team for this landmark competition, praised her athletes, saying, “I am extremely proud of their resilience and control of their nerves. Having control of one’s emotions is probably the hardest thing to achieve in a competition, and they showed up and showed off, [especially] the little ones who have never attended a competition before.”
The team, composed entirely of female gymnasts from Levels 1 through 6, proved their dedication and hard work across the four apparatus: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.
Cayman’s competitors included the host nation Trinidad and Tobago as well as Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda and Curaçao.
Leading the medal haul during the 6-7 Dec. competition was Level 6 gymnast Kayla Beck, who trains in Florida but calls Apex her home gym when she returns to Cayman.
Beck dominated her category, sweeping up three gold medals in the individual apparatus – on floor, beam and the all-around – while also securing a silver on bars.
Adding to the golden success was Level 3 athlete Lily McCarty, who earned gold on vault with a score of 9.8, alongside a bronze medal on the floor exercise.
In Level 2, Sienna Chaloner achieved her goal of winning a medal, clinching bronze on uneven bars and another bronze on the floor exercise, finishing sixth all around. Her Level 2 teammate, Kate Murphy, finished ninth all-around.
Level 1 gymnast Skye Mungall secured a silver medal on vault and Scarlett Jasper, also in the same level, narrowly missed the podium with a fourth all-around finish.
Siena Clemens-Orr, the seventh athlete to compete for Cayman, placed 17th overall in the Level 6 category, with her best result being 15th on the vault and floor.
Reflecting on the competition, Gutu concluded, “As we return to the gym to train for our next competitions, we are aiming for even cleaner routines and more elegance.”
