Chloe Russell: Jersey gymnast wins four Special Olympics medals

Chloe Russell won four medals across four different pieces of apparatus

Jersey gymnast Chloe Russell says it was "emotional" to win two gold medals at the Special Olympics World Games.

The 24-year-old topped the podium in the division three beam and division five bars, as well as winning silver in division five floor and bronze in division two vault in Berlin.

"I got a gold for beam and I did not think I'd be getting a gold on beam," she told BBC Radio Jersey.

"It was the piece that I feared the most and had the most nerves for.

"I also got gold on bars, which I was really confident on going into the competition."

The achievement of Russell, who has cerebral palsy, is all the more remarkable as she was not able to use much of her club's gym equipment in the build-up to the event.

Jersey Special Gymnastics Club were forced out of their home in July 2022 and temporarily moved to Fort Regent earlier this year.

"We were without a facility for a good six months, so I was doing conditioning at home and going to the gym in town to keep up my strength," Russell said.

"When we got a gym in February I was able to concentrate on routines."

Having come away from Berlin with four medals Russell says she will assess where her gymnastic career goes next.

"I've got a couple of goals," she says.

"I need to go back to the gym and talk to my coaches about what I can do now, because obviously it's been a goal for so long and now it's over, so I need to make myself a new target to aim for."