Veteran Rui Reis

JERSEY’S special gymnasts had great results across the board at yesterday’s opening day of competition at the Special Olympics National Summer Games in Leicester, with all who competed in with a chance of a medal on all pieces going into the finals – which start today.

Beginning with Level One, Matthew Kirkland kicked off the competition for Jersey in the Under 12 age group, scoring consistently on all pieces and putting in outstanding performances on the floor, high bar and rings where he took first place.

Team mates Aaron Bonnar and James Lang then went on to produce similar results at U16 level; sharing the top two places throughout the rounds.

While in the U16 women’s event, Eloise Clyde-Smith and Kiara O’Brien also put themselves into medal contention with some brilliant performances – which included a 9.40 vault from O’Brien.

At Level Two in the afternoon, the consistent high performances continued with Alexa Kirkland in the U16 women and Rui Reis in the veteran’s competition both producing their best.

• See Tuesday’s JEP for full story and more sports news.