Video: Larne grandmother’s pride at World Champion gymnast grand-daughter

Megan Kealy, 15, clinched the title in the 12 to 14 year old age category at the World Championships in Florida’s Daytona Beach last November.

Her proud grandmother Moira Connor told The Times that Megan’s achievement was all the more remarkable as she had recently made a return to the sport after recovering from a broken foot.

Moira told The Times: “Megan had been off for six months with a broken foot last year and she went back and trained like a trojan. She’s really dedicated and we are all thrilled, no-one expected it.”

The world championships were not the first medals won by Megan, who lives in England. In 2012, she won three European gold medals and after winning three medals at the British Open Tournament for acrobatics and tumbling the same year she was picked for the World Championships in Bulgaria.

However, after suffering a damaged ligament in her foot, she was forced to wait until November 2014 to fulfill her World Championship dreams.

Moira continued: “She is a very talented gymnast who has been taking part in gymnastics since she was a wee tote.

“She has been competing since she was 10 or 11 and has been picked for the British Championships every year since 2013 when she was 12.

“When she won the British Championships we were over the moon, when she won the Worlds we were ecstatic, we couldn’t believe it.”

Megan has now been picked to compete in the Great British Championships in June 2015.

The Larne grandmother says that the secret to Megan’s success is her dedication.

She continued: “It requires a lot of commitment, she goes to the gym six days a week and trains from 5pm-8pm after her normal school days.

“She loves gymnastics, her Mum took her and her brother to it when they were at nursery school and she stuck at it as she loves it.”