MAY 8 - CLAIRE WRIGHT (pictured), who was taken to the gym when she was just seven days old, was today selected to represent Britain in the trampoline at the Beijing Olympics.

 

The 28-year-old from Sandhurst, whose parents were both gymnastics coach and introduced her to the sport an early age, finished fourth in this year's European Championships.

 

She has won the World Cup title on three occasions, in 2002, 2004 and 2005, but this will be the first time she has competed in the Olympics.

 

Wright said:  "I am so excited about the future and am really looking forward to this amazing experience of competing at my first Olympic Games."

 

Matthew Greenwood, the performance director for British Gymnastics, said: "We are delighted that Claire Wright will be representing Team GB in Beijing.

 

"Claire has been a consistently high performer at the elite world level for a number of years and her place within the Olympic family is richly deserved.

 

"Claire has had an extremely successful trampoline career and has proudly competed at numerous major events, so it is fantastic that she can now make the final step up to compete as an Olympian."