GYMNAST Melanie Evans may have stepped up a level - but she is still "doing the double".
The 10-year-old was crowned Lancashire Grade Four Gymnastics Champion and went on to win the North West Regional Championships in Stockport last week. And this was after winning both championships at Grade Six level last year.
Melanie, a pupil at Benjamin Hargreaves Primary School, is unbeaten in the eight competitions she has taken part in. She has been training for around two-and-a-half years and started at Accrington Gymastics Club before being recommended to move to Blackpool where she is under the careful supervision of Janet Mankowska, one of the top gymnastic coaches in the area.
"She is hoping to go down the elite path in gymnastics which, if she is good enough, could lead to representing Great Britain," said her dad Gordon.
Melanie trains six days a week at Blackpool with over 19 hours of coaching.
For the Lancashire championships, she finished first on the bar, the floor and in range and conditioning and second in the vault and fourth on the beam. To be crowned North West Champion Melanie again was number one on the bar, floor and in range and conditioning.
