A former child gymnast has been crowned a British champion - 30 years after she clinched her last gold medal.<br /><br />Prize-winning Suzy Kerfoot, 44 stopped competing in the sport during her late teens but said the “smell of the gym” had tempted her back decades later.<br /><br />The beauty therapist spent her youth pursuing the discipline where participants are judged on their vault, bars, beam and floor routines and was Kent under 15s champion.<br /><br />And she said the idea of returning to the sport had 'never crossed her mind' until she started taking her two daughters to classes as she was approaching 40.<br /><br />Suzy went on to grab two bronzes in her age group in 2019 and 2022, as her coaches helped her to rediscover her form in the elite sport.<br /><br />But she said it was “emotional” when she was finally crowned over 45s intermediate British gymnastics champion in August this year.<br /><br />Suzy said: “When I won gold, it was a feeling like I’ve not had before.<br /><br />“It was very, very emotional. I was so happy. I just cried. I didn’t really think that was ever an option for me - to win.<br /><br />“It had never crossed my mind about going back. I always spoke about it. Everybody knew that I did gymnastics, but I’d never considered doing it again.<br /><br />“But when I took my kids to gymnastics, I found out there was an adult class. I just thought. ‘I want to give it a go’ - and it turned out I could still do it.”<br /><br />Suzy, originally from Kent but now living in Sheffield, South Yorks., was three when began going to gymnastics classes, following in the footsteps of her older sister.<br /><br />And it didn't take long before she showed a flare for the sport - saying her leotard felt like a superhero “disguise” that allowed her to embrace the hobby.<br /><br />She hit her heights at 15 when she became Kent champion - with footage from the time showing how her incredible floor routine helped her bag the win.<br /><br />But Suzy stopped competing soon after and finally gave up at the age of 19.<br /><br />It was only when her kids, Jessica, 13, and Elsie, ten, began gymnastics classes that she thought about taking the sport up again - at the age of 39.<br /><br />She said: “The requirements of your training mean you’ve got to be there at certain times, and when I got a job, I just couldn’t commit to that. <br /><br />“I was about 19 when I stopped, and then I literally didn’t do any gymnastics at all until just before my 40th birthday when I started the adult classes.<br /><br />“The smell of the gym overall brought back that familiar feeling for me - the chalk in the air, the leather on the beam.<br /><br />“And as soon as I smelled it and walked in there, I got that adrenaline rush. So when they said they did adult classes, I didn’t even have to think twice about it.”<br /><br />Suzy, who owns Aspects of Beauty, in Sheffield, kept up her fitness during her 20s and 30s but said getting back into gymnastics was still a big physical challenge.<br /><br />She went on: “As soon as I got there, my muscle memory took over. However, I feel it in every single part of my body now. I have to warm up for a long time.<br /><br />“The risk of injury is always on my mind, but I only do things that I know I can do."<br /><br />Suzy said her coach at High Green Gymnastics Academy, in Sheffield, had started to put her into British competitions from 2019 onwards.<br /><br />And when she moved up an age category this year to the over 45s, she felt she had her best possible chance of taking home a gold medal.<br /><br />She finally clinched the top medal on August 6 after getting the highest overall score in the vault, bars, beam and floor routines.<br /><br />And following her success, she encouraged others to get involved even if they had no past experience in gymnastics.<br /><br />She said: “There’s a girl in our team that competed, and she’d never competed in gymnastics before.<br /><br />“So for adults, if they didn’t do it as a kid or just did it at school and enjoyed it, they can still start again and they can still compete.<br /><br />“I’m going to keep going and keep competing. <br /><br />"I’m going to see what my body will let me do. But I’m not going to overdo it. I’m self-employed, so I can’t go around hurting myself. <br /><br />“If it leads to medals, that’s great, but the most important thing is I’m keeping active and enjoying it.”
