Medea's medals keep on coming

The medal-winning Te Puke Gymsport Club team, clockwise from bottom centre, Samantha Bartley, Summer Nicholson, Ainsley Ashe, Elyssa Mackie, Amy Pilkinton, Medea Jones, Ellen Emmerson. Photo/SUPPLIED

A Papamoa gymnast tumbled her way to a regional title last weekend, despite a nasty tummy bug, adding to the National Gymsport Championships spot she already secured earlier this month.

Medea Jones competed at the Midlands Regional Championships in Rotorua on Saturday, taking out the individual gold medal in Step 7, as well as the overall regional title for her grade.

Though she ably beat competitors from Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Taranaki in the overall competition on the first day, a stomach bug prevented her from competing for individual apparatus medals on Sunday.

The regional gold is not the first medal this month for the talented 12-year-old, who was also one of seven Bay of Plenty gymnasts who won 13 medals at the Hawke's Bay Poverty Bay Open Championships in the school holidays.

Medea came second overall in the Step 7 competition, beaten to the top spot by Whakatane's Amy Pilkinton, who also trains in Te Puke. Medea also claimed a gold medal on beam, silver on floor and bronze medals for vault and uneven bars.

In the process, she also earned the qualifying score needed to attend the National Gymsport Championships, to be held in Auckland at the start of October, along with Te Puke's Samantha Bartley.

In other Te Puke Gymsport results from the Hawke's Bay competition, Ainsley Ashe came first overall in the Step 4 competition, with team-mates Ellen Emmerson, Summer Nicholson and Elyssa Mackie taking home silver medals in the team competition.