SOUTH Essex Gymnastics Club member Amy Tinkler faces a busy 2018 which will see her attempt to feature in three major competitions.

Tinkler rose to stardom after winning bronze for Team GB in the 2016 Olympic floor exercise.

But the 18-year-old has continued to impress since moving to south Essex from her Durham home in March.

And South Essex Gymnastics Club’s head of women’s artistic gymnastics Ross Falsetta admitted that it will be a year full of competitive action for Tinkler.

Falsetta said: “It is going to be a very busy year in 2018, with three majors.

“That begins with the Commonwealth Games at the start of the year, followed by the European Championships and finishing with the World Championships.

“Our main objective is to try and stay fit, healthy and strong.

“Amy is an awesome competitor so she would like to be part of every one of those majors.

“Between myself, Amy and Scott (Hann) we’re just battling to get her the skills that she wants, make sure the routines are of a competitive level and hoping that she can get to those majors and do herself proud.”

Tinkler has been a major success from a young age, with her winning silver at the 2014 Junior European Championships and gold at the 2015 British Championships.

The future Olympian also helped Team GB to claim team bronze at the 2015 World Championships, which was held in Glasgow.

At the 2016 British Championships, Tinkler retained her floor title by claiming gold for the second year in a row.

Having been named as the youngest member of Team GB for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Tinkler produced a stunning floor routine to claim bronze and become the first British gymnast to medal in the event.

While fellow South Essex club-mate Max Whitlock also shone in Rio by winning gold on the floor and pommel horse to become the country’s first gold medal-winning gymnast, Tinkler was just the second British female gymnast to win an individual medal at an Olympic Games.

Falsetta has been closely monitoring Tinkler’s progress since she joined the club, and her success has continued.

The teenager performed consistently well to finish in all-around 17th place at the World Championships in Montreal, Canada, earlier this year.

And Falsetta, who celebrated a year at South Essex yesterday, was also pleased to be a part of the club’s annual Gymnanza event.

Falsetta added: “Being my first Gymnanza, I thought it was fantastic.

“It pulls the whole club together, everyone mucks in, have their jobs and get on.

“The kids seemed to absolutely love it and it was a great opportunity for them to show off their gymnastics, other than in a competition scenario.”