This morning, at around 10am British time, British Gymnastics announced the retirement of 2-time Olympian Hannah Whelan from elite gymnastics aged 22. Hannah has played a vital role in numerous British European and world-level teams and will be missed by the elite gymnastics community! I thought it was fitting to have a look back by way of tribute at the highlights of Whelan's competitive career.

 

See British Gymnastics' video tribute to Hannah here:

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uC8JJN6tdHg

 

The beginning: Hannah started gymnastics as a hyper-active six year old in Stockport, England before moving to Texas, USA at age seven and training in Flips Gymnastics Academy. She competed for two years in the USA's compulsory levels system and even attended a training session at the Karolyi Ranch. In 2001, when Whelan was nine, she moved back to the UK where she continued gymnastics and in 2005 she joined her club of the past ten years; City of Liverpool Gymnastics Club - a club which has an outstanding reputation as the home club of four out of five of the Great Britain 2012 Olympic team! (Whelan, Beth Tweddle, Jennifer Pinches, Rebecca Tunney). 

 

Beijing 2008 

 

In her younger years Whelan was always near the top of the Espoir and Junior levels and at only 15 years old, in her first year as a senior, Hannah qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Hannah helped her team finish 9th, the highest ever Olympic finish at the time for a British Womens' team. A BBC documentary that was first aired in the UK in 2011 named 'Gymnast' featured Whelan and detailed the journeys of eight British gymnasts in their quest to make the Beijing team. I found this documentary extremely insightful and emotional, I was touched particularly by the support Hannah received from her parents. A must watch for any gymnastics fan! See the link below:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YB39um3xEI0

2010 - A Successful Year

 

At the World Cup event in Porto, Portugal, Hannah placed third on floor exercise with a score of 13.400. She was also crowned the British all-around champion with a very high all-around score of 57.800. At the World Championships in Rotterdam she was the highest ranked British gymnast in the all-around competition in 16th place. The British team came 7th in Rotterdam, a two place improvement on the Olympics two years before. A very impressive year considering she had surgery on her wrist in late 2009!

 

2011

 

Hannah defended her British title in 2011 by coming out on top in the British Championships all-around. However, her greatest achievement in 2011 was placing 9th all-around, an outstanding result for a British gymnast, at the world championships in Tokyo. For me, this was the most exciting moment of Whelan's career.

 

2012 - Olympic Year

 

At the 2012 European Championships in Brussels Hannah proved strong on floor and beam by earning a bronze medal on both in event finals. Whelan described her emotions at the time as feeling "over the moon" and that the medals were a career highlight. At the 2012 British Championships, an event which I was lucky enough to attend, Whelan won the bronze medal all-around. One of the highlights of the competition for me was her spunky floor routine, with catchy music and very modern choreography! See below:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qRST2550mx8


In London, although she had an unfortunate all-around competition, Whelan helped her team secure an incredible 5th place, four places better than Beijing. She contributed high scores on bars, beam and floor. London saw Great Britain prove that they really have become a big contender on the gymnastics scene.

 

2014

 

In 2014 Hannah Whelan received a silver medal for her beam performance at the 2014 British Championships (something she also did in 2013) and was a member of the silver medal-winning British Team at the European Championships in Sofia. The 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow provided a fitting British Stage for Whelan's last international medals. The English team gave an excellent  performance to clinch the team gold medal and Hannah earned the individual bronze. 

 

It is with celebration and sadness that we look back on Hannah's gymnastics career during which she has demonstrated such longevity, passion and talent. 

 

I would like to wish her all the best for the future! #ThankYouHannah

 

Lucy

 

(16 year old gymnast from the UK)