Sarah Fenwick (Left) and Penelope Fowler couldn't be split when it came to their Vault victory. Photo / Warren Buckland
Sarah Fenwick (Left) and Penelope Fowler couldn't be split when it came to their Vault victory. Photo / Warren Buckland
Two talented Hawke’s Bay gymnasts found they couldn’t be split when they achieved the exact same score for their vault routines at the recent national championships.
Penelope Fowler (16) of Omni Gymnastic Centre and Sarah Fenwick (18) of Hastings Gymnastics Club also both attend Napier Girls’ High School and were part of the same Hawke’s Bay Poverty Bay (HBPB) gymnastics group of 19 who achieved outstanding results at the event held in Tauranga earlier this month.
The pair achieved qualification for the vault finals, with final scores making them joint New Zealand Step 7 Vault champions for 2023, together taking home the gold medal.
“It was very weird to be honest,” Fowler said of the rare double feat.
“I went before Sarah and got a mark that was a lot better than I had ever done before. It was nearly a point higher than the qualification. A couple of other people went, and then Sarah went and got the same score.”
Fenwick said Fowler had vaulted first, and she didn’t know what people had scored till after she vaulted.
“We were a bit shocked, because it’s not often that you get scores that are the same, especially on vault.”
The victors show off their skills at Omni Gymnastics in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
This event hosted over 900 gymnasts from all around New Zealand across the gymnastic codes, from women’s artistic gymnastic (WAG) and men’s artistic gymnastic (MAG) to tumbling, rhythmic gymnastics, aerobic and trampoline.
Hastings coach Sara Hazelwood said the pair had absolutely “smacked it out of the park” with their incredible results.
“I’m definitely very impressed with both of them, because generally at nationals it’s the top of the top who qualify and get to compete with people from all over New Zealand.
“It’s really hard to achieve your best score of the entire season at those national championships, which both of them have done.”
Omni centre manager and HBPB coach Adrian McMillan said he was “more than excited” at the results, noting Fowler had worked incredibly hard all year to strive for greatness.
“To put it all together at the one opportunity was presented to her was just outstanding,” he said.
“It’s a big event for these kids and they all went and represented their respective clubs with a great attitude and great commitment.”
It wasn’t just the two tied victors who made their coaches proud.
Sam Alexander of Omni competed in the Level 9 MAG final, and a score of 14.8 earned him silver in the floor event. A 13.5 score also saw him claim bronze in vault.
Isla Bawden from Hastings Gymnastics Club placed fifth overall and Bella Huang from Omni sixth overall in WAG Step 5 Overs.
Omni also celebrated another victory this year, with head coach Jane Sheldrake recently being awarded the National Judging Legend Pin for her services to judging gymnastics at a national level for 30-plus years.
Knowing how tough the judging for these kinds of competitions was, she said, it was a testament to the pair’s skill that they achieved the joint gold.
“Particularly on apparatus finals where we are given instructions to have no ties, so [the judges] must have been very impressed.”
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
