12:06pm Thursday 2nd September 2010
By James Colasanti
A TRIO of Basildon gymnasts will represent England at the Commonwealth Games in India next month.
Danny Lawrence, 26, Reiss Beckford, 18, and Max Whitlock, 17, beat off fierce competition from competitors nationwide to earn three of the five spots up for grabs.
And they will be accompanied by their club coach Scott Hann, 30, who has been selected to oversee the squad.
He said: “It is a tremendous achievement for them as individuals and for the club.
“Usually a club is happy to just get one of its members included. So to have three out of the five really was beyond all our expectations. We are all so proud of them.”
They currently train at South Essex Gymnastics Club, off Cranes Farm Road, but will move to Basildon’s new £38million Sporting Village when it opens in April next year.
To win their places at the Games they had to follow-up an impressive year in competition with trials at Lilleshall National Sports Centre. Out of the 22 who took part in the trials, Danny came second, Reiss fourth, and Max fifth.
They were delighted when they discovered they had all made the final cut via email on Tuesday evening.
Lawrence, a Brentwood firefighter who lives in Leigh, has trained at the Basildon-based club for 16 years.
FULL STORY IN THURSDAY'S ECHO
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