British Gymnastics’ head national coach Amanda Reddin hopes the experience of competing with three Rio 2016 Olympians will help newcomer Georgia-Mae Fenton in her first European Championships.
Fenton is joined in the squad for the Romania event by Claudia Fragapane, as well as sisters Ellie and Becky Downie.
The 16-year-old was scheduled to compete at last weekend’s World Cup of Gymnastics, at London’s O2 Arena, but suffered an injury in the warm up.
She looks set to be back to full fitness by the time the Championships, in Cluj-Napoca, roll aroundon April 19.
And while Fenton may be new to the event, the elder Downie sister is no stranger to European competition, after being crowned bars champion in 2014, before again taking the title last year.
Younger sister Ellie has also experienced success on the continental stage, gaining an all-around bronze medal in the 2015 event.
And at just 19, Fragapane already has a large medal haul to her name, including four Commonwealth golds and a European silver on the floor.
In contrast, Fenton is making her senior major Championships debut, following a superb performance at the national Championships last month that resulted in a finish of 4th all-around and second on bars.
And Reddin is hoping her squad can match the achievements of last year, where they finished third in the medal table with one gold and three silvers.
“As the first major championships of the new Olympic cycle the European Championships present an opportunity to assess our gymnasts progress,” Reddin told British Gymnastics.
“Becky, Ellie and Claudia have all taken medals at world and European level and so will go in to the championships aiming for more success.
“And for Georgia-Mae this is a well-deserved opportunity to test herself at the highest level.” Full British Gymnastics squad for European Championships: Georgia-Mae Fenton Ellie Downie Becky Downie Claudia Fragapane
Sportsbeat 2017