Alice Kinsella
Kinsella at the 2022 European Championships
Personal information
Full nameAlice Nicole Kinsella
Country represented Great Britain
 England
Born (2001-03-13) 13 March 2001 (age 23)
Basildon, Essex, England
ResidenceSutton Coldfield, West Midlands[1]
Height157 cm (5 ft 2 in)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2015–Present (GBR)
ClubPark Wrekin School of Gymnastics
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Team
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Liverpool Team
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Szczecin Balance Beam
Gold medal – first place 2023 Antalya Team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Munich Team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Munich All-Around
Silver medal – second place 2023 Antalya Floor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Rimini All-Around
FIG World Cup
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
All-Around World Cup 0 0 1
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Balance Beam
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast Team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast All-Around

Alice Nicole Kinsella (born 13 March 2001) is an English artistic gymnast and member of the British national gymnastics team. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the team event, and was part of the Great Britain team that achieved the highest positions ever achieved in the same event at the 2022 World Championships (silver) and the 2023 European Championships (gold). Kinsella won a Commonwealth Games team title as part of England's gold-winning team all-around squad of 2022.

Individually, she is the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 European champion on the balance beam, and the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion on floor.

Domestically, Kinsella was the 2023 British national all-around champion.

Early career

Kinsella first started gymnastics at Tamworth Olympic Gymnastics Club. She then moved to Park Wrekin Gymnastics Club in Wellington, Shropshire and has continued training there since.[2]

Senior career

2017

Her senior debut came in March 2017 where she finished seventh in the 2017 Stuttgart World Cup.

She competed at the 2017 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania where she placed tenth in the all-around.[3]

In October 2017, Alice was chosen to represent Great Britain at the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She competed in the all-around in qualifications and placed twenty-fourth overall, qualifying her to the all-around final with a score of 51.365.[4]

On 6 October 2017, British Gymnastics announced that Alice had withdrawn from the all-around final after sustaining a minor ankle injury during qualifications.[5]

2018

On 10 February, Alice competed at the English Championships where she placed seventh in the all-around. She also placed fourth on vault and bars and sixth on floor. On 21 February, Alice was named to the English team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.[6]

In March, Alice competed at the British Championships. She competed in the all-around where she placed fifth with a score of 51.650. She then competed in the beam final where she won a silver medal with a score of 13.350 and also in the floor final where she placed fifth with a score of 13.000.[7] Later on that month, Alice was chosen to compete at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Birmingham to replace teammate Claudia Fragapane who had to withdraw due to injury. She won the bronze medal with a total score of 53.099 behind Russia's Angelina Melnikova and American Margzetta Frazier.[8]

In April Kinsella competed at the Commonwealth Games on all four events in the team final/individual qualifications where she won a silver medal with the English team, finishing behind Canada. She had also qualified in third for the all-around final, second for the beam final and sixth for the floor final. In the all-around final, Alice won bronze with a total score of 53.150 behind gold medal winner Ellie Black from Canada and silver medal winner Georgia Godwin from Australia. Alice competed in the beam final where she won gold with a score of 13.700. She told the BBC after her win:

"I'm still quite speechless. I don't really know what to say. I went out quite confident because I came second in qualifications. I thought if I go clean a medal was possible. But when I got the gold I didn't know what to do."[9]

Alice then competed in the floor final where she placed eighth after falling on her final tumble. She scored 11.666.[10]

On 7–8 July Kinsella competed at the Heerenveen Friendly where she placed third in the team final with Great Britain, second on balance beam behind Sanne Wevers, 4th on floor, and 10th in the all-around after a fall on the beam.[11] On 6 July Kinsella was named to the team to compete at the 2018 European Championships alongside Becky Downie, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Kelly Simm, and Lucy Stanhope.[12] Great Britain finished fourth in team finals.[13]

On September 27, Kinsella was named to the team to compete at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar alongside Becky Downie, Ellie Downie, Georgia-Mae Fenton, and Kelly Simm.[14] Great Britain finished ninth in qualifications and was the first reserve for team finals.

2019

In March Kinsella competed at the English Championships where she placed third in the all-around behind Amelie Morgan and Kelly Simm. She was later selected to compete at the 2019 European Championships alongside Ellie Downie, Morgan, and Simm.[15] At the British Championships Kinsella placed fourth in the all-around, second on uneven bars, fourth on balance beam, and fifth on floor exercise.[16] At the European Championships Kinsella qualified to the all-around final in third place behind Angelina Melnikova and Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos. She additionally qualified to the balance beam final in third and the floor exercise final in seventh.[17] In the all-around final Kinsella finished fifteenth.[18] During event finals she won gold on the balance beam making her the first British gymnast to become a European champion on the apparatus. She later placed seventh in the floor exercise final.[19]

In September Kinsella competed at the British Team Championships where she placed second in the all-around behind Kelly Simm and helped her club, Park Wreckin, place second.[20] Later that month Kinsella was named to the team to compete at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart alongside Ellie Downie, Becky Downie, Taeja James, and Georgia-Mae Fenton.[21] During qualifications Kinsella helped Great Britain place seventh, earning a spot in the team final and qualifying a team for Great Britain to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Individually she qualified to the all-around final.[22] During the team final she contributed scores on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise towards Great Britain's sixth place finish.[23] In the all-around final Kinsella finished in twelfth place.[24]

2020–21

In early February it was announced that Kinsella was selected to represent Great Britain at the Birmingham World Cup taking place in late March.[25] However, the Birmingham World Cup was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[26]

In April 2021 Kinsella was selected to represent Great Britain at the European Championships alongside Jessica Gadirova, Jennifer Gadirova (later replaced by Phoebe Jakubczyk),[27] and Amelie Morgan.[28]

On 7 June 2021, Kinsella was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Jessica Gadirova, Jennifer Gadirova, and Amelie Morgan.[29] During qualifications Kinsella suffered multiple mishaps and did not qualify for any individual event finals; however Great Britain qualified for the team final. During the team final Kinsella performed on all four apparatuses, hitting all of her routines and helping Great Britain win the bronze medal, their first Olympic team medal in 93 years.[30]

In July 2021 Alice became an official ambassador for the gymnastics leotard brand Milano Pro-Sport[31]

Outside of gymnastics, Alice was one of a number of Olympians to appear on CBBC’s Saturday Mash Up. Kinsella was gunged with 20 buckets of slime after losing a public vote.

2022

Kinsella competed at the English and British championships where she finished second and fifth respectively. In June she was selected to represent England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games alongside Ondine Achampong, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Claudia Fragapane, and Kelly Simm.[32] Kinsella was also selected to compete at the European Championships alongside Achampong, Fenton, and Olympic teammates Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova.[33]

At the Commonwealth Games Kinsella led the English team to gold during the women's team final.[34] Individually she qualified to the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise finals. During the all-around final Kinsella fell off the balance beam and suffered mistakes on floor exercise resulting in a fourth place finish. Additionally she finished fourth in the balance beam final before going on to win gold on floor exercise.[35]

On the first day of competition at the European Championships Kinsella won silver in the all-around behind Asia D'Amato of Italy.[36] Additionally, she helped Great Britain qualify for the team final in second place, and individually she qualified for the uneven bars final. During the team final Kinsella contributed scores on all four apparatuses towards Great Britain's second place finish.[37] During event finals Kinsella finished eighth on uneven bars.

In September Kinsella was named to the team to compete at the 2022 World Championships, once again alongside the Gadirova twins, Achampong, and Fenton.[38] She qualified for the All-Around final, after finishing 14th in the qualifier round. During the team final Kinsella competed on all four apparatuses, helping Great Britain win the silver medal and achieve their highest placement at a World Championships.[39] In the All-around final, Kinsella finished fourth, just beneath team mate Jessica Gadirova in bronze, the two highest finishes in history for a British female gymnast in a global (World or Olympic) all-around final..

2023

Kinsella competed at the English Championships where she placed first on uneven bars and balance beam. She next competed at the Welsh Championships she placed sixth on uneven bars, ninth on balance beam, and seventh on floor exercise. Kinsella was named to the team to compete at the upcoming European Championships alongside Becky Downie, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Jessica Gadirova, and Ondine Achampong.[40] At the British championships she placed first in the all-around, on balance beam, and on floor exercise. At the European Championships Kinsella helped Great Britain win their first team gold medal. Additionally she placed sixth in the all-around during qualifications after falling off the uneven bars; however she did not advance to the final due to teammates Gadirova and Fenton placing higher. She did, however, qualify to the floor exercise final.[41] During the floor exercise final Kinsella won silver behind compatriot Gadirova.

In September Kinsella was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2023 World Championships alongside Gadirova, Achampong, Fenton, and Ruby Evans.[42] While there, she helped the team qualify in second to the team final. Individually Kinsella was the third highest placing British all-arounder and therefore did not qualify to the final due to two-per-country limitations. Additionally she was the first reserve for the floor exercise final. During the team final Kinsella contributed scores on uneven bars and floor exercise towards Great Britain's sixth place finish.[43] During warm-ups for the all-around final, Gadirova injured her knee and withdrew and Kinsella was substituted in. Despite being a last minute replacement, Kinsella performed four clean routines and finished seventh.[44] In addition to the all-around final, Kinsella also replaced Gadirova in the floor exercise final, which was Kinsella's first ever World apparatus event final. During the final she finished eighth.[45]

2024

Kinsella competed at Welsh Championships, finishing first on uneven bars and balance beam, and second on floor exercise.[46] At English Championships she finished second in the all-around, as well as first on the uneven bars and floor exercise.[47] She was named to the European Championships team, alongside Ondine Achampong (later replaced by Abigail Martin), Ruby Evans, Becky Downie, and Georgia-Mae Fenton.[48] In the all-around competition, which ran coterminously with team and aparatus qualification, she finished in fourth place, but was awarded the bronze medal as the third place finisher was excluded on the two-per-nation rule.

Personal life

Kinsella is the daughter of former Republic of Ireland international footballer Mark Kinsella. Her brother Liam is also a footballer who currently plays for Cheltenham Town FC and has represented Ireland at under-age level.[49]

Competitive history

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Espoir
2014 English Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Junior
2015 English Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
British Championships 12 7
Flanders Team Challenge 5 13
British Team Championships 28
Olympic Hopes Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2016 International Gymnix 15 8 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
British Team Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
English Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s)
British Championships 4 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4
Italian Junior Friendly 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Elite Gym Massilia 7 6
Senior
2017 Stuttgart World Cup 7
British Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 5
English Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
European Championships 10
Dutch Invitational 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
British Team Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships WD
2018 English Championships 7 4 4 6
British Championships 5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5
Birmingham World Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Commonwealth Games 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8
Heerenveen Friendly 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4
European Championships 4
World Championships R1
2019 English Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
British Championships 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 5
European Championships 15 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7
British Team Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships 6 12 R2
2021
European Championships R3
Olympic Games 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2022 English Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
British Championships 5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Commonwealth Games 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 4 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8
British Team Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 R2
2023 British Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships 6 7 8
2024 Welsh Championships (guest) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
English Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 18 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

References

  1. ^ "Home". alicekinsella.net.
  2. ^ "Alice is back home after Tokyo heroics". Shropshire Star. 31 July 2021. p. 86.Report by Nick Elwell.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Update from Montreal - Alice Kinsella - British Gymnastics". Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Commonwealth Games Team Announcement: Team England". 21 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Gymnastics British Championships 2020 **CANCELLED*".
  8. ^ "2018 Birmingham World Cup Results". 23 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Wilson and Kinsella win gymnastics golds". BBC Sport.
  10. ^ "2018 Commonwealth Games Results". 6 April 2018.
  11. ^ "2018 Heerenveen Friendly Results". The Gymnter.net. 11 July 2018.
  12. ^ "British teams announced for 2018 European Championships". British Gymnastics. 6 July 2018. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  13. ^ "European Championships 2018: GB fourth in women's team gymnastics final". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018.
  14. ^ "GBR women's team confirmed for World Championship action". British Gymnastics. 27 September 2018. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  15. ^ "British team for 2019 European Championships announced". British Gymnastics. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Gymnastics British Championships 2019". British Gymnastics.
  17. ^ "British women shine in European Championship qualifying". British Gymnastics. 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  18. ^ "Ellie Downie wins superb European silver". British Gymnastics. 12 April 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  19. ^ "Alice Kinsella wins brilliant beam gold". British Gymnastics. 14 April 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  20. ^ "2019 British Team Championships Results". The Gymternet. 15 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Meet the women's 2019 Artistic World Championships team". British Gymnastics. 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  22. ^ "Women's team make world finals and qualify place for 2020 Olympic Games". British Gymnastics. 5 October 2019. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  23. ^ "British women's team 6th in world final". British Gymnastics. 8 October 2019. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Alice Kinsella 12th in world all-around final". British Gymnastics. 10 October 2019. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  25. ^ "Birmingham World Cup roster bursts with World stars". FIG. 7 February 2020.
  26. ^ "British Gymnastics national events announcement, including FIG World Cup". British Gymnastics. 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  27. ^ @BritGymnastics (15 April 2021). "There's a change to our line up for the European Championships" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ "British gymnasts announced for 2021 Artistic European Championships". British Gymnastics. 1 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Women's artistic gymnastics team named by Team GB for Tokyo Olympics". British Gymnastics. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Team GB win bronze in women's team gymnastics for first time since 1928". Sky News. 27 July 2021.
  31. ^ "Milano Pro Sport - Welcome Alice Kinsella to Team Milano! 🎉 We are thrilled to welcome Alice into the Milano family as she becomes our new Ambassador 💖 We are so excited to be working with such a talented athlete and wish her all the best in the upcoming weeks! #GoAlice 🙌🏻 #milano #milanoprosport #mermaidbeach #gymnastics #gymnast #flexible #handstand #tumbling #flexibility #calisthenics #cheer #acro #gymnasticsshoutouts #acrobatics #flip #gymnastic #parkour #dancemoms #backflip #gymnasts #barstarzz #beam #splits #flips #turnen #gymnastique #cheerleading #trampoline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  32. ^ "Team England Reveal Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics Team Set to Compete at 2022 Commonwealth Games". British Gymnastics. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  33. ^ "Team announced for 2022 Artistic European Championships". British Gymnastics. 4 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Commonwealth Games: England's women take team gymnastics gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  35. ^ "Alice Kinsella ends on a high with Commonwealth Games floor gold". Sports Mole. 2 August 2022.
  36. ^ "Asia D'Amato claims women's all-around title as world qualifiers decided at 2022 European Gymnastics Championships". International Olympic Committee. 11 August 2022.
  37. ^ "Italy win artistic gymnastics team gold at European Championships". International Olympic Committee. 13 August 2022.
  38. ^ "Unchanged GBR women's team named for World Gymnastics Championships". British Gymnastics. 28 September 2022.
  39. ^ "Historic world silver for women's team in Liverpool". British Gymnastics. 1 November 2022.
  40. ^ "British team announced for European Championships". British Gymnastics. 21 March 2023.
  41. ^ "Womens team win historic European gold". British Gymnastics. 12 April 2023.
  42. ^ "Women's team announced to complete World Championships line up". British Gymnastics. 4 September 2023.
  43. ^ "British women finish 6th in world team final". British Gymnastics. 4 October 2023.
  44. ^ "7th to Alice Kinsella and 13th for Ondine Achampong in women's World all-around final". British Gymnastics. 6 October 2023.
  45. ^ "2023 World Championships Results". The Gymternet. 11 October 2023.
  46. ^ "2024 Welsh Championships Results". The Gymternet. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  47. ^ "2024 English Championships Results". The Gymternet. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  48. ^ "GB women's line up for the Artistic European Championships". www.british-gymnastics.org. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  49. ^ Rowan, Paul (7 January 2018). "Kinsellas fly the flags for Ireland and Great Britain". Retrieved 9 March 2018.

External links

European Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Balance Beam
European Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Team Competition
Commonwealth champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Team All-Around
Commonwealth champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Balance Beam
Commonwealth champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Floor Exercise
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