RHYTHMIC gymnasts Laura Halford and Stephani Sherlock both secured top-50 finishes in the European Championships in Budapest at the weekend.

Halford, aged 21, ened the three-day competition in 31st place, while 20-year-old Sherlock was slightly further down the standings in 44th in her first European Championships.

On the first day of the competition, Halford and Sherlock, who are both trained by Deb Hows at the Esprit club in Swindon, were competing in the hoop and ball disciplines.

In the hoop section, Halford placed 31st, while Sherlock was further back in 49th.

During the second half of the opening day, both gymnasts managed to improve as Halford scooped 29th in the ball class, compared to Sherlock’s 42nd.

Those scores meant the duo were 27th and 41st in the all-around standings as they headed into day two, where they participated in ribbon and clubs events.

Halford had further solid outings in those classes as she posted scores of 10.75 and 14.1 respectively, while Sherlock scored 8.650 and 13.350.

That left the duo with overall scores of 43.350 and 39.500, both inside the overall top 50.