A young Langford gymnast won three medals at a recent championship and is eying even bigger wins in her future.
More than 600 athletes representing four provinces competed at the Western Canada Gymnastics Championships in Langley from May 3 to 6.
Competing with Team B.C., Brianne Kerr won a bronze with the team.
In individual events, still representing Team B.C., Kerr went on to win bronze for her performance in vault and gold in the floor exercise event.
The 14 year old has competed before at the B.C. Winter Games but this was her first time attending the Western Canada Championships. A gymnast since age eight (“a late starter,” said Kerr), she has ambitions to compete in national championships next year and, eventually, the Olympics.
Winning in these particular events came as a bit of a surprise to Kerr, whose best event is usually the bars. Kerr had two falls during the bar event at the championships and didn’t do as well as hoped, but she made up for it with impressive showings in two events she doesn’t always excel in.
“Usually floor’s not my strongest, so I was pretty surprised I did so good on it,” Kerr said.
Kerr’s coach, Jackie Sedore at Lions Pride Gymnastics, said that maintaining consistency is both the key to winning and the hardest part of competition.
“She brought her A-plus game on that day,” Sedore said. “She really stood out because of the way she presented and did everything as tidy as possible.”
Kerr practises five days a week, four hours a day, and is keeping her focus on achieving her goals.
“I’m committed to it,” Kerr said. “I set goals and I’m determined to make those goals.”
Coach Sedore believes she is heading in the right direction.
“You’ve got to work your way up to go into Westerns, so it’s a pretty good reward and it’s not something that everyone can achieve,” Sedore said. “And to win a medal at it, that’s even better. Two medals, even better.”
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