England rhythmic gymastics coach hails gold and bronze medals

England won team bronze and individual gold from Marfa Ekimova - England's first in history - in Birmingham to make history.

Laura Hogg is head coach at at Finesse Rhythmic Gymnastics Club in Widnes and is the head coach of Team England's rhythmic gymnastics squad.

She is clearly delighted with the effort.

She added: "As a team we are absolutely thrilled with the success of day one.

"The team final was a real nail biting time, the girls performed in the morning and had a long wait to find out the results.

"It was very close at the half way point of the second rotation and as the competition came to close we had realised our chances of getting a medal were high. The success of this bronze medal has been a real team effort with many people involved. It’s exciting for the future of our sport and hopefully gives the discipline the green light for more funding."

Two athletes then qualified for the individual final the day after, on Friday, where there was the historic gold.

Laura, who lives in Warrington, said: "Day two was the turn of the Individual Overall final, Marfa Ekimova and Alice Leaper qualified for this event.

"They both went into the competition feeling very determined and ready to compete.

"The work behind the scenes at their clubs and in preparation camps had been done.

"They both started very strong and continued this success throughout the competition. To make history at the games with this team of girls feels incredible."

And Laura believes the future is bright for the sport.

"To anyone out there with a dream or a goal, work hard, never give up and keep pushing for what you believe in," she added. 

"Going into the games I believed the team could produce something special and they certainly did. The future is bright for Rhythmic gymnastics."

The Games come to a close tonight, Monday.