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History Made at the Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships

It was a historic World Championships for Great Britain as Eric Deli and Lola Lawrence produced a series of outstanding performances on the world stage.

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Eric made British Aerobic Gymnastics history by becoming the first British Senior Individual Man ever to qualify for a World Championship final.

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The scale of this achievement cannot be underestimated. The Individual Men’s qualification competition featured 55 gymnasts representing 29 countries, with only the top eight progressing to the final.

Eric delivered an excellent qualification routine, scoring 19.250 to qualify in 6th place and secure his position among the eight best male aerobic gymnasts in the world.

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In the final, Eric raised his performance again. He scored 19.700 to finish an incredible 5th in the World—just 0.250 away from the bronze medal.

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This was not simply about reaching a World Championship final. Eric demonstrated that he belongs among the very best in the sport and was genuinely challenging for a place on the World Championship podium.

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Eric and Lola also made history together by qualifying for the Senior Mixed Pair final. They produced another excellent performance, scoring 19.500 and finishing 5th in the World—only 0.100 away from the bronze medal.

Lola completed a fantastic Championships by also reaching the Senior Individual Women’s final, meaning Great Britain was represented in three World Championship finals across Individual Men, Individual Women and Mixed Pair.

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For Eric, the Championships ended with two outstanding 5th-place finishes: one in Individual Men and another alongside Lola in the Mixed Pair.

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Their performances have also secured qualification for next year’s European Games, giving them another major international target to work towards.

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Achievements at this level are only possible through years of dedicated work by the gymnasts and the coaches supporting them. Eric’s Individual Men’s programme is coached at Heathrow Aerobic Gymnastics Club by Gary Jarvis and Natalia Ilienko-Jarvis, who have coached and guided him throughout his development and at numerous major international competitions.

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The coaching of Eric and Lola’s Mixed Pair is a separate collaboration between Heathrow Aerobic Gymnastics Club and Weston Aerobic Gymnastics Club, Lola’s coach, Kat Sanders. This shared coaching arrangement applies specifically to the Mixed Pair and is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when two clubs come together and work towards a shared goal for their gymnasts.

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Eric has been a member of Heathrow Aerobic Gymnastics Club for many years, and this historic achievement is the result of an enormous amount of dedication, resilience and hard work throughout his career.

To become the first British Senior Individual Man to reach a World Championship final, finish 5th in the World and come within a quarter of a point of a medal is an achievement that can never be taken away from him.

We are incredibly proud of Eric and Lola and everything they achieved for their clubs, their coaches and Great Britain.

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Congratulations to you both on a truly historic World Championships!

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