Ryan Hampton struck gold for the Isle of Man at the prestigious Men’s London Open gymnastics competition in Ilford at the weekend.

The nine-year-old member of the Manx Gymnastics Centre of Excellence produced an amazing floor routine to earn a score of 11.7 from the judges and clinch first place against some of the country’s top young talent.

He followed up his gold medal success by securing a further two top 10 placings, with excellent performances on the rings (sixth, score 10.85) and the parallel bars (eighth, score 11.4).

While Ryan delivered the standout display of the weekend, all six boys who represented the Manx club did the island proud with some impressive showings at one of the biggest events on the British men’s gymnastics calendar.

(Left to right) Dehan Krugar, George Graham, Aidan Hampton and Jacques Kruger all competed in the under-12 boys competition at the Men’s London Open in Ilford last weekend
(Left to right) Dehan Krugar, George Graham, Aidan Hampton and Jacques Kruger all competed in the under-12 boys competition at the Men’s London Open in Ilford last weekend (-)

Under the watchful eye of coach Gennady Tsyganov, the under-12 boys were the first in action, with Aidan Hampton, George Graham, Dehan Kruger and Jacques Kruger tackling the six disciplines of floor, pommel, vault, high bar, parallel bars and rings against a strong field of 41 gymnasts.

George claimed 19th overall and Dehan 23rd, with the highlight being an outstanding joint 10th place finish on the vault. Aidan placed 32nd overall, with a best score of 11.7 on the rings earning a fine 12th position.

Unfortunately, an injury during his floor routine forced Jacques to withdraw from the competition. Prior to that he had looked strong and confident, scoring 11.3 on the parallel bars.

Competing in the under-10 boys’ event alongside Ryan, Brodie Hancox showed tremendous composure and promise in what was his first off-island event.

Brodie put in some solid performances across all the disciplines to finish 23rd overall in a hotly-contested class, with a best score of 11.0 on the parallel bars securing 14th place.

The boys showed once again the quality of gymnastics in the Isle of Man and their ability to compete with distinction at a national level.

The team would like to thank Gennady and the men’s coaching squad for preparing the gymnasts for the event, to Graham Furner, who was one of the judges, and to all the families who travelled to London to support the boys.