Little Claims Top 10 Finish in Montreal

Western Australian Institute of Sport gymnast Emily Little has returned home from her first overseas competition of 2009 with two top 10 places at the Gymnix International Cup in Canada.

Despite having to overcome flight delays which extended her trip from Perth to Montreal to 48 hours, the 14-year old secured an eighth place overall in the all-around competition against a strong field of athletes. Making her result even more impressive was the fact that it was also the first competition that Little had attempted a series of new skills on beam and on the floor.

Her efforts were not confined just to the all-around competition however, with the City Beach local also qualifying for the uneven bars final. In the apparatus final she just missed out on a medal, claiming fourth place.

In other gymnastics news, former Great Britain Olympic reserve and recent addition to the WAIS gymnastics squad Kayleigh Cooke has decided to retire from the sport. The recurrence of a long standing injury has forced Cooke to retire at 17.