Island Games: Manx gymnast to be events' youngest competitor at 13
Phoebe, who took up the sport aged seven, said she was "proud and excited" to be part of the Manx delegation.Despite feeling nervous ahead of the games, she said she felt comforted by the support she had received from her teammates and coaches."I've got the older girls to look up to so that makes me feel more settled," she said.Gymnastics team manager Helen Duggan said: "If Phoebe's birthday had been one day later she would have missed these games and that would have been it for another two years."But as it is we're going to celebrate her birthday there and we're very hopeful for her at the competition."
Gymnastics has not been selected to feature in the bi-annual multi-sport event since the Gotland games in 2017, at which the Manx squad topped the medals table.Ms Duggan said even though the 12 gymnasts on the team gained international experience at an inter-island competition in Aland 2023, it was "really special to be back at the Island Games".Putting in up to 24 hours of training a week in the build-up to the event, the team were "very, very passionate" and had "given up a lot to get there", she said.
Ms Duggan continued: "This is like their Olympics, this is the highlight, the biggest point of their career. It really is a big deal."We're proud to be Manx, we're proud to go the Island Games and proud to represent the Isle of Man."There are three days of gymnastics competition at the Stromness Academy - a local secondary school - across the week, with the first medals in the discipline up for grabs on Monday.
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