Did you know that Becky and Ellie Downie grew up and attended school in Mapperley?
The sisters are both British Artistic Gymnasts competing nationally & internationally on the Road to Tokyo and beyond.
Becky says,
“Before gymnastics I studied ballet, tap and stage dance. The dancing didn’t really work out for me so I decided to try gymnastics as a school friend did it, so I thought I’d give it a go! I started gymnastics when I was 7 at Bigwood Gymnastics Club and trained every Saturday morning, however this soon increased to 3 sessions a week. I placed 3rd at my first Regional competition when I was 9 years old and that’s when I decided to move to Notts Gym Academy. I won my first British title when I was 12, competed in my first International when I was 13 and from then on I never looked back. Throughout my career I’ve had some amazing experiences which include going to two Commonwealth Games, nine European Championships, seven World Championships and my highlights being selected for two Olympic Games !! It’s crazy to know I can now call myself a double Olympian for the rest of my life and hopefully I still have many more great experiences to come.
Ellie says,
“2015 was an Amazing year for me as I gained GB’s first ever AA podium finish at a major Championships (Europeans) which also resulted in me winning BBC Young Sports Personality Of The Year !”
They both have already achieved success but still have many dreams to fulfil.
You can follow Becky aged 25, & Ellie aged just 18, on their journey over the coming months attending squad camps and competition meets as well as sharing their day to day lives. Ellie competes on all four pieces, vault, bars, beam and floor and is a good All Around (AA) gymnast and vault specialist. Becky however is a bars and beam specialist.
They also have their own brand of leotards on their website https://shop.doubledownies.com/product-category/leotards/
They appreciate all the messages & support they receive from all over the world and love the life they live.