NEWTON Abbot Somersaults Gymnastic Club star Alfie Collier “never could have imagined” that he would win the top prize at the World Age Group Championships.

This was his third time at the competition and speaking to the Mid-Devon Advertiser, he described it as a “dream come true” to win gold in the 17-21 category.

Back in October, he finished third against other senior competitors (including former world champion Kristof Willerton, who took silver) in the British Tumbling Championship in Telford, earning him this spot in the Great Britain squad.

It was “a massive privilege” for Alfie to be amongst those who headed to Pamplona, Spain earlier this month.

As previously mentioned, he had attended these championships twice prior and so “was feeling pretty well-prepared going into it.”

He continued, “My initial goal was to make my first-ever world final. I needed to place in the top eight qualifiers to do this.”

A personal best in qualifying ensured that this goal was achieved and then some, Alfie qualifying first up against athletes from countries such as Japan, France, USA, Azerbaijan and New Zealand to name just a handful.

He explained that, “The qualification results shocked me a bit and filled me with confidence for the finals”, which took place later that evening.

All eight finalists were to do one run before the top four of them then do a second, called the super final, to compete for the medals.

Despite making a minor mistake, Alfie advanced, thanks to a fourth-placed finish.

Nerves were jangling and “It was very tense watching the other competitors who went after me” but this couldn’t stop him from taking that top spot and winning gold.

Understandably, he is elated at this achievement: “I will never forget that feeling of watching the final score go up and realising I’d done it.

“It was a dream come true, and a memory that I’m sure will stick with me vividly forever.”

Alfie remains humble and had many people to thank for his success in Spain.

“I’d like to emphasise that none of this would’ve ever been possible without my incredible coach Trish Hunt from Newton Abbot Gymnastics, who has contributed countless hours of help and support to get me where I am today.

“I’d also like to mention my more recent coach (as I’m now at the University of Warwick), Chris Porter, who has contributed so much to get me to where I am today.”

Under Trish’s tutelage, Alfie has got up to a national standard and now, into the contention for GB squads.

This signals the end of Alfie’s competitive action for 2025 and what a way to round proceedings out! He is now looking forward to pushing himself further forward in the sport, and by doing so, work towards the competitions for next year. Not to mention enjoying every moment as well.

In 2026, the World Championships are in China and he would “really like to be selected for that competition, to give me another chance at representing GB on the world stage, as it is always an incredible feeling to do so.”

If his Pamplona performances are anything to go by then Alfie certainly has what it takes to conquer China.