Coleraine dentist has plenty to smile about after scooping gymnastics gold

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A dentist from Coleraine has plenty to smile about after scooping the gold medal at her first ever gymnastics competition.

Mother of four, Ursula Goode, was crowned champion in her first event at the British Championships after beating off stiff competition in the over 40’s novice section. Ursula, 44, enjoyed gymnastics only as a hobby until recently, but was persuaded by her fellow gymnasts and her coach to take it more seriously after displaying talent in a number of disciplines. The Coleraine dentist, who runs a clinic with her husband, Ben, a keen triathlete, only started training for the event less than a year ago and had previously only attended the Sika Club for one night a week as a means of keeping fit.

Ursula’s coach, Mary, persuaded her to enter the British Championships, and less than a year later she was standing on a podium collecting her medal. In the build-up to the competition, Ursula trained 5 days a week and she was working incredibly hard to get in shape and to hone her technique. Mary was an inspiration, increasing her confidence day by day and giving her the belief that she could perform well at the upcoming event in Lilleshall. Although Ursula was confident, she never expected to come away with a medal, let alone a gold one, and she was absolutely delighted with the result. At the end of a tense couple of days when competitors took on four events: the vault, the bars, the beam and the floor, there was a one and a half hour wait for the results and when bronze and silver were read out, Ursula assumed that she hadn’t made the top three. Seconds later, her name was announced and she described being “flabbergasted.”

Ursula is now working towards next year’s event at which she will compete at intermediate level.

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