Southampton gymnasts Stephanie Ricketts and Toula Raftapoulou have achieved their dream of representing Great Britain in Acrobatic Gymnastics.

They competed at the Junior European Acrobatic Championships in Poland - and won a silver and a bronze medal.

Ricketts, 17, and Raftapoulou, 14, began their European campaign in the qualification rounds. This was their first competitive performance as part of a British team and they scored 27.460 for their dynamic routine, with only the Ukranian pair scoring higher (by 0.34).

The following day, the Southampton pair performed their balance routine - all about strength, flexibility and stillness. The beauty of their choreography and execution was rewarded with a total score of 27.05.

At junior and senior level there are three finals for each discipline, a Balance Final, a Dynamic Final and an All-Around Final in which the pairs perform their Combined routine.

Ricketts and Raftapoulou’s performances saw them qualify for both the Dynamic Final and the All-Around Final. - the latter in second place.

In the Dynamic final, the pair produced their highest execution score of the competition - 28.06. Any score above 28 at this level is an incredible achievement, and resulted in a silver medal.

In the All-Around Final, Ricketts and Raftapoulou performed a single Combined routine and their score was added to those recorded in the Balance and Dynamic qualifiers to determine their overall placing.

Their score of 27.43 helped towards an overall total of 81.94, and a bronze medal - the third best pair in Europe!

Nathan Leworthy, Southampton Gymnastics Club’s Acrobatic Head Coach, paid tribute to his medallists.

“Stephanie and Toula are both dedicated and hardworking girls and we are so proud of them,” he said. “A silver in the dynamic finals and a bronze All-Round at the Acrobatic European Championships is a fantastic achievement.

“Stephanie has recently taken her GCSEs and started college, whilst training for the Europeans, as well as competing in Budapest earlier in the month.

“Toula volunteers to support our disability class every Tuesday before her own training session begins.

“They are both great role models to the younger gymnasts within the club, supporting and inspiring others.”

Southampton Gymnastics Club offers classes in Pre-School, Recreational, Freestyle, Competitive and Elite Gymnastics. Further details from 02380 529952 or email admin@sotongym.co.uk