BROMLEY Valley Gymnastic Club's

Andrew Price and Reece Durbidge were both in

superb form in the sports acrobatics men's pairs at an international competition.

Andrew, who is 12 and lives in Bromley, and 13-year-old Reece from Gravesend, won silver medals when they competed in the inaugural World Age Games for Sports Acrobatics, held in Poland.

And both came within a whisker of winning gold when the Russian pair, who along with the Ukraine are the by far the best in the world in this type of event, beat them to the gold by just

a single point. Reece and Andrew

were also featured on Russian and Polish TV.

A delighted coach Andy McDuff said: "They

performed a fantastic balance routine and it was

the best one they had ever done. Then their tempo routine was enough to win them the silver medal.

"It was difficult to tell how we would do going into the competition, as it was a new event. So we were pleasantly surprised to see how well they did.

"Hopefully, they will continue it as they get older. It was great to be just one point behind the Russians as they and the Ukraine are the two best forces. We, in Britain, are catching up gradually."

Unfortunately, the men's fours, which the club was scheduled to enter and was to have featured Reece's 12-year-old brother Liam, had to withdraw when one of the squad was injured during training.

The youngsters' next major objectives will be the London Regional Championships, in February, and the British Championships in May.

If you would like to join Bromley Valley Gymnastics Club, based in Chipperfield Road, St Paul's Cray, and which welcomes people of all ages and abilities, call Sue on 020 8300 5964 for more details.

December 20, 2001 14:30