BRIDGWATER’S Quayside Trampoline & Gymnastics Club has two members at the World Championships next month, with Laura Gallagher and Corey Walkes representing Britain in St Petersburg.

Gallagher, 29 and from Bridgwater, and Walkes, 17 and from Bath, will head to Russia for the 33rd FIG Trampoline Gymnastics Championships (November 7-10) and 26th World Age Group Competitions (Nov 15-18), respectively.

They go in fine fettle, too, having both won medals at last month’s British Championships, and in Gallagher’s case, at the World Cup event in Loule, Portugal.

That ensured they were eligible for British selection, which is the result of a lot of hard work, in Bridgwater and at the National Centre in Lilleshall.

Quayside co-director Sue Bramble, who coaches both gymnasts, said: “They’re both so professional and they train really hard.

“Laura trains for four days a week in Lilleshall and here on a Friday.

“They are very, very dedicated, strong and determined.”

Bramble’s fellow coach at Quayside, Carl Hall, added: “Corey’s here from 4-5pm, straight from college, until 8pm.

“That’s a big commitment, it’s not normal for someone to do that five or six days a week, but it takes something outstanding to go to Worlds.”

Gallagher has enjoyed a good year of steady progress after her comeback from injury in 2017 – and she also got married back in the spring!

Now she feels ready for her fifth World Championships as a senior, St Petersburg also being the venue for her first and where she won European gold in 2012.

She said: “It’s encouraging to be in the mix in Portugal, and I’d love to transfer that into Worlds.

“My routine consistency is there, everything’s there, but I need to keep working hard, as my form and execution have to be absolutely on it to be competitive.

“We do have our eyes on certain scores and targets, and my target is to be in the final, from the qualifying round and semi-final.

“If I could then put in a good routine in the final, that would be great.”

Hall added: “Both [gymnasts] have a very good chance at Worlds.

“You can’t control it if someone turns up and they’ve got a bigger, better card than you.

“But if Corey performs his two best routines, he’ll be in the top five.

“It’s like having a 100m sprint, where all 10 people who line up could win it... it’s that tight at the top.”

Quayside is based in East Quay; for details, visit https://quayside.club.