June 2023

Chloe Russell’s dream, since she was a little girl, was to compete at the Special Olympics World Games. Not only did she compete in Berlin at this year’s event, she won two gold medals, a silver, a bronze, and a fifth place!

The gymnast from Jersey Special Gymnastics Club, fully deserved her stunning results after working so hard on her routines alongside her three coaches (Head Coach Nikki, Jeannine and Josie in Jersey). She has also benefited from PT sessions courtesy of Strive.

How does Special Olympics at World Game Level work?

Once podium training has been completed, gymnasts are put into divisions so that they are competing at their level with gymnasts of the same ability.

Chloe was competing at Level 2, and with 25 gymnasts in that group, they were split into 5 divisions. Division 1 is the top level while Division 5 is the lowest division in group.

This means that in each division there will be a gold, silver and bronze medallist which gives each competitor a greater chance of a medal, promoting both confidence and inclusion.

Here are Chloe’s superb results:

There were only four divisions in the "All Around" section, where Chloe finished in 5th place with a total score of 66.825.

Jersey Special Gymnastics Club head coach Nikki Kirkland told the JSAD: "THis was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Chloe, and she absolutely loved the experience!"

Congratulations to Chloe Russell from everyone at the JSAD for a remarkable achievement at her debut World Games.

That is something that has never been achieved before, and surely means that Alex is the greatest disability men's gymnast that Great Britain has ever produced.