'She absolutely excelled': Four golds for Cork gymnast Mimi in Oslo

MIMI MOLONEY of Douglas Gymnastics Club has been welcomed home after “absolutely smashing it” and winning four gold medals at an international competition in Norway.

The 14-year-old has been a member of the Douglas club for eight years, and travelled to Oslo, Norway, for St Patrick’s weekend with four other gymnasts, Sophie, Eve, Caoimhe, and Caoilfhionn.

As well as winning a silver medal alongside her teammates, she won an overall gold in the all-round contest and then gold in vault, bars, and floor on Sunday in the multi-disciplinary Unni and Haralds competition.

Coach Tash Day explained that the club decided to enter soloists and a team in the friendly competition in Oslo, which had 140 gymnasts from nine countries competing.

“We just went out for a friendly competition and for Mimi to try some new skills, and she absolutely excelled,” Tash said.

The coach explained that they flew over to Norway on Thursday night and had some training on the Friday before their first competitions on Saturday.

There was a team event that Mimi competed in alongside Sophie, Eve, Caoimhe, and Caoilfhionn, with the team clinching the silver position for their performance.

Mimi took the gold in Saturday’s solo all-around competition which qualified her for three finals on the Sunday — vault, bars, and floor, all of which she won gold in as well.

Mimi has been doing gymnastics for 10 years, since she was just four years old, and said that her favourite event to compete in is the floor category, which sees contestants perform a routine without apparatus incorporating tumbling interspersed with dance movements.

Mimi told The Echo that this was her third international contest, having previously competed twice in Slovenia, where she represented Ireland at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival last summer.

She said she was not expecting to win so many gold medals, and thanked her coaches Tash Day and Emma Hamill, everyone at Douglas Gymnastics Club, and Colin O’Shaughnessy from Elite Training & Rehab for all their support.

“I’m incredibly proud of Mimi, she did everything she was asked and more,” Tash said, adding “it was great to see this tiny Mimi who I’ve known for years suddenly competing on a big stage and she was absolutely smashing it.”