Sydney Townsend (CAN) © Grace Chiu / Gymnastics Canada

In her function as Youth Olympic Games Athlete Role Model for Women’s Artistic Gymnastics, London 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist Beth Tweddle (GBR) addresses the following message to the YOG participants in Nanjing:

Hi everyone, I just wanted to quickly introduce myself. I am Beth Tweddle and I have recently been elected the FIG athletes representative for Women’s Artistic Gymnastics. I am hoping to be the voice of you the gymnasts to ensure you have the optimum environment to compete in. I have performed at many major championships and I know that your main focus when you arrive at a Championships is performing to the best of your ability so I want to try and help ensure that this is possible by creating a pathway between us the gymnasts and the FIG.

Firstly congratulations on making it to the Youth Olympic Games, that in itself is a massive achievement. Make the most of this opportunity and gain the valuable experience which is a great stepping stone for future major championships such as the Olympic Games. The main thing is to remember that you have done all the hard prior to arriving here, so now go out and enjoy the whole experience!

If you would like to contact me then I have set up a Facebook page under the name of Beth FIG .

May I take this opportunity to wish you all the success in the future.

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Flavia Saraiva (BRA) © Ricardo Bufolin / CBG