Great success for Mullingar gymnastics club

Mullingar Gymnastics Club was delighted to participate in the recent Gymnastics Ireland GymSTART competition and they had reason to celebrate after two of their competitors won Gold medals.

Mary Lyons achieved first in her category, level 5, under 8s, while Ciaran Guilfoyle also achieved first place in level 4 under 13s.

Wayne and Mairead Healy run the Mullingar club, with Wayne a recognised weight lifting champion at both European and world levels. The club was established in 2019 and is located at Lynn Industrial Estate, Mullingar.

This year they put a strong emphasis on the GymSTART Competition, a national competitive event based on the GymSTART Awards. There were 1,400 gymnasts taking part this year.

The event was held on March 4th and 5th at the National indoor Arena (NIA), National Sports Campus, Dublin. The Mullingar competitors participated in both floor and vault events.

There are separate routines for boys and girls. The girls participate in eight levels, while the boys in four. Mullingar Gymnastics Club had 20 gymnasts competing in girls level 3, 4, 5 and 6, and boys level 1 and 4.

This was the first of many GymSTART competitions for Mullingar Gymnastics. They all enjoyed the very well organised event that gave the opportunity to experience a competition within a fun and relaxed environment. It was perfect and fantastic to see all the hard work put into place while celebrating their own personal achievement.

Gymstart sessions are currently only open to Mullingar Gymnastics Club members.

“We had great success and learned a lot from it,” said Wayne.

“It was great to win two Gold medals and it was Mary’s first ever event, so for her to achieve first place was very impressive. All the competitors put in a terrific effort and gave great commitment; they got their just reward.

“It was great to see that our members can go to these competitions and compete, and win medals. They are up against clubs that are much older and longer established. We are thrilled with what has been achieved.”

Mullingar Gymnastics Club is now planning its over in-house summer camp and already 175 children have signed up. From that, youth talent identification will be taken and the end goal is to produce a national champion and get on the Irish team.

WEIGHTLIFTING

Wayne also runs the weightlifting club at the same unit and it was the biggest club of its kind in Ireland last year in Olympic weightlifting. Weightlifting begins at the age of 15.

One of their members, Colm Quinn, has qualified for the European under 15 weightlifting championships and the dedicated athlete is aiming for a top five finish at the June event.

The club will have a 10-person team at the Connacht championships on April 8, while the National Youth Championships will take place in Mullingar on April 30.

“We’re delighted to be hosting these championships; it’s an honour for the club," said Wayne.

They are catering for 75 youths and approximately 25 adults.

Wayne, while well established before he arrived in the town, began his Mullingar weightlifting journey with the Mullingar Harriers Club and it has grown into a great success story. He is three-time European champion while he also won one world title in the sport, having begun with the Hercules Club, Dublin, the oldest club in the country.

“I got a lot out of the sport and I’m delighted to be giving something back now,” he said.

“It benefits sports people in lots of ways and is a great help when taking part in other sports, just like gymnastics. They are skill-based sports and they really improve concentration levels.”