Features / gymnastics
Claudia Fragapane on the 2021 Olympics, starting a YouTube channel and more
From competing in the 2016 Olympics to coming fourth on Strictly Come Dancing, gymnast Claudia Fragapane has had a busy few years.
The 23-year-old, who grew up in south Bristol and attended St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School in Whitchurch, is currently training for the 2021 Olympics – all while renovating her first house, starting a YouTube channel and preparing for a host of upcoming competitions.
The four-time Commonwealth Games champion for Team England is recovering from having keyhole elbow surgery in November 2020 and, for the first time, is documenting her training and recovery on YouTube.
is needed now More than ever
Claudia, who has almost 100,000 followers on Instagram, has started a YouTube channel after her “followers just kept asking me to start one” and is a look behind the scenes of her life.
“I’ve wanted to do YouTube for ages, but I just never had the confidence” she told Bristol24/7. “My boyfriend bought me a camera for Christmas and he’s helping me out with editing as well.
“And anyway, I needed a new hobby! During the pandemic, I’ve got a bit obsessed with cleaning and I was running out of stuff to clean!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpMWwZOi0ek
Claudia trains at Bristol Hawks Gymnastics Club in Easton, the same place she’s trained at since age six.
“It is lonely in the gym at the moment! Training is carrying on the same as before the pandemic, but it’s just me and my coaches,” she said. “At the moment, I’m gaining all my routines back after my surgery.
“I’m a bit older, so when doing all my big numbers I just need to be careful to not injure myself. Being sore after training is fine, but I just don’t want to be injured.”
Although Claudia admits she’s “not 100 per cent sure” the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo will go ahead, she’s training as if they will.
“My coaches say, ‘if you don’t think they will, you won’t put in your all’, so if it doesn’t, at least I’m fit and healthy. And, honestly, there’s worse things going on at the moment.”
With control competitions starting in February and having applied for the 13th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha, 2021 already looks set to be as busy as ever for Claudia.
Claudia training at Bristol Hawks Gymnastics Club in Easton. Photo: Zoe Potter Photograhy
She hopes to take part in the European Championships in April and then qualify for the Team GB Olympics team, hopefully travelling to Japan in July.
Claudia’s main hope for the year ahead though, is just to stay fit and healthy and “not focus on Covid completely”.
Having bought her first house in 2020, just 15 minutes from her parents’ home, growing her subscribers on YouTube and training for global events, that shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for this ambitious and focused multitasker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kUHgjQDqbw
Main photo: Zoe Potter Photography
Read more: My Bristol Favourites: Claudia Fragapane
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