SWINDON rhythmic gymnast Stephani Sherlock is over the moon after securing her place to represent Great Britain at the World Championships.

The Esprit gymnast earned her call-up alongside Cricklade’s Laura Halford after an impressive showing at the British Championships in Liverpool last week.

The Russian-born athlete took silver in the all-around, behind Halford, with a score of 55.800 at the Echo Arena.

The 18-year-old followed that up with a gold medal in the ribbon completion, with a score of 15.150, to deny Halford the clean sweep on the second day of the competition.

“Overall, the British Championships were such a nice event and so much bigger than it normally is, because it was held in the fantastic Echo arena in Liverpool,” said Sherlock, who was 10 when she took up the sport.

“I really enjoy performing to a big audience and in spacious stadiums, so it was exciting and a brilliant preparation for similar conditions at the upcoming major competitions.

“In the all-around competition, although I didn’t achieve everything I wanted in my routines, I enjoyed each performance.

“I was pleased to have become the British silver champion, especially considering I started training when I was much older than the average age at which girls start rhythmic gymnastics. I was really delighted to be crowned British senior ribbon champion.

“I am very thankful to my coach Deb Hows and all the people who have helped me and made this achievement possible.”

Sherlock, who is currently back in Russia training, is getting ready for the World Cup Series in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she will join Halford in competition.

After that, she will join up with the British national squad for a week of training together in Bulgaria, followed by another competition in Varna.

The 18-year-old will use those two competitions to sharpen her routine for the World Championships, which will take place in Stuttgart from September 7-13.

“I treat it as a great honour and responsibility to be selected to represent Great Britain alongside Laura at such a big event,” added Sherlock.

“My goals for the future are to keep working hard and pushing my limits every day, getting stronger and stronger with each training session and reaching my full potential.

“I aim to compete successfully at the international level, and to get recognition for Great Britain and England in the rhythmic gymnastics world.

“I really hope I can compete at the next Commonwealth Games in Australia, the University Games, as well as World Cup events, the European and the World Championships. And of course, the dream of performing at the Olympic Games lives in my heart.”