91-year-old veteran strikes gold in trampolining competition
Peter Quinney won two golds at an event in Portsmouth last month
A 91-year-old man from Melksham in Wiltshire has struck gold at a trampolining competition.
Former RAF instructor, Peter Quinney, who coaches the sport in Salisbury, took part in an event hosted by Portsmouth Gymnastics Club on 25th January, winning two gold medals.
Peter, who says he's been bouncing for over 70 years, hadn't competed in more than four decades, but explained what drew him back into the competitive arena.
He said: "One of the ladies in our club doesn't like wearing leotards, so she doesn't bounce in the regional competitions, but when Portsmouth advertised this competition for the over 40s, and they didn't have to worry about the leotard wearing, she decided she would like to join the competition.
"And because she did, the coaches at the club, myself, Sue and Chris, decided to join her and make up a team of four."
Peter says he doesn't enter many competitions as he's "quite keen to carry on coaching".
He said the competition didn't require any somersaults for the routine: "One of the criteria for this particular competition was for level one, you could just do 10 basic bounces and that's all they required of you."
Call for more participants
Peter is encouraging more people to take up the sport, saying it's a fantastic way to exercise the whole body.
He said: "It's absolutely great from an individual's point of view because it exercises just about every part of the body, and it also gives you the opportunity to sort of get used to your balance when you're wobbling around all over the place."
Peter added that it can be highly beneficial for people with special needs.
"When you do rebound therapy with people who are particularly handicapped, it's absolutely wonderful to see how they can achieve things that they never ever thought they would attempt, let alone achieve," he said. "That's where I get my pleasure from, to seeing the joy in their faces when they do it."
He says the sport is open to anyone from five years old, explaining that he worked with a 75-year-old man who didn't have any legs but could perform a 10-bounce routine.