Trampoline gymnast Natalya, 10, dreams of being next Bryony Page

Natalya Wheeler (right) with Synchro trampoline partner Eloise (left)

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Trampoline gymnast Natalya Wheeler has already competed in numerous national and international gymnastic competitions by the age of 10, and dreams of one day competing for Great Britain at future World Championships and Olympic Games.

Natalya, who goes to Claires Court School in Maidenhead and started her gymnastic journey at the age of four, watched Bryony Page claim gold in trampolining for Team GB at the Paris Olympics this summer and turned to her mum Donna and said, 'that's going to be me some day'.

She has begun the process of following in Bryony's somersaulting steps in fine style, qualifying for the British championships in Telford, where she finished 14th.

Her execution score for a 10-year-old in that was the best seen in British Gymnastics history.

Having qualified for the event in second place, she finished 14th in a competitive field (ages 10-12) but impressed the judges with an outstanding execution score - the highest in the u16s category.

This year has also seen her compete in further competitions including the Gymnastic League Championship Finals on October 26-27 and the Gymnastic International Finals on November 2-3.

The League Championship competition was spread across four regions in the UK, with qualifiers taking place across the year.

The top qualifying gymnasts then compete in the finals which were held in Derby. She picked up enough points from the first two qualifiers to progress to the semi-finals and finals in Derby and there, she competed against 30 other gymnasts in her 9-10 age category.

Placing first in her semi-final - finishing first in both jumps - she was one of the eight gymnasts who progressed to the final round.

In the final she came first again and was awarded the gold medal in her age group (9-10).

She was also entered into the Synchro Trampolining Final and the Double Mini Tramp (DMT) finals at the same competition and had success - her first time competing at this national level.

In the Synchro Final Natalya and her partner Eloise finished third in the 9-12-year-old category and in the DMT Final Natalya finished sixth in the same age group.

The David Ward Cup International took place in Gillingham, Kent, on November 2-3, with gymnasts of a regional and national level travelling from across Europe to take part.

30 gymnasts competed in the 9-12 age group and Natalya was third after the first two rounds and progressed to the final the next day. In the final she then placed third again, a huge achievement considering the girls who finished first and second were both 12 and already in the GB team. She was presented with the David Ward Cup bronze medal (ages 9 - 12)

Reflecting on her progress this year, mum Donna said: “Natalya has accomplished some incredible achievements this year and has received numerous medals and trophies for her efforts.

“Throughout every competition and during her training she has remained professional, confident and has been super happy competing and achieving at the highest possible level for her age and skill set.

“We're all very proud of her. She's doing such good things.

“She started doing gymnastics at the age of four and quite quickly it just clicked for her.

“She found the love for the sport and has gone on to do her thing.

“Her goal and dream is to compete at the World Championships and Olympics.

“The first thing she said when she saw Bryony winning gold in Paris this summer was ‘that’s going to be me someday’.”