KEEN youngsters were full of excitement following a visit from a world class gymnast who spoke to the children about his journey.

Courtney Tulloch visited Lawford Primary School and talked to pupils about becoming an elite gymnast.

The children were fascinated by his diet, the amount of training he did and how resilient he had to be.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard: Accomplished - Courtney Tulloch shows his medals to the pupilsAccomplished - Courtney Tulloch shows his medals to the pupils (Image: Lawford Primary School)

A spokeswoman for the school said: “Courtney talked to the children about his intention to give up the sport when he missed out on the Rio Olympics in 2016.

“However, with the support of family and friends he persevered and won gold on the rings at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia and silver for vault.

“It was amazing to hear how he wasn’t very good at vaulting for a long time and through sheer determination and hard work he succeeded.”

Courtney also let the children hold his medals and gave them a demonstration of some of his skills including a dive roll over four people.

The rest of the morning he spent leading circuit training with each year group. 

Year Three were selected as the best class in the circuits session and were given a poster.

Nickcole Glasgow organised the visit for Lawford CE Primary School through Sports For Champions, an organisation which supports athletes financially.

For more information visit sportsforchampions.com.