Jessica Castles

Last updated
Jessica Castles
Full nameJessica Matilda Kristina Castles
Country representedFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
Born (2002-07-16) 16 July 2002 (age 21)
West Surrey, England
Hometown Fleet, Hampshire
Residence Tucson, Arizona
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Discipline Women's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior Elite
Years on national team2017–21 (SWE)
ClubEskilstuna Gymnastikforening (SWE)
Heathrow Gymnastics Club (GBR)
College team Arizona Wildcats (2021–24)
Head coach(es)Michele Walduck
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
European Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2019 Minsk Floor Exercise

Jessica Castles (born 16 July 2002) is an English-born Swedish-Northern Irish artistic gymnast who represents Sweden in international competitions. She is the 2019 European Games floor exercise bronze medalist and the 2018 Swedish national champion. She is currently competing in collegiate gymnastics at the University of Arizona.

Contents

Early life

Castles was born in West Surrey, England in 2002 to a Northern Irish father and a Swedish mother. She has two younger brothers. She grew up in Qatar, having lived there for nine years before moving back to England at age 14 in order to get better gymnastics training and coaching. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Junior gymnastics career

Castles trained gymnastics recreationally before she was scouted by the Qatari national team when she was twelve years old. She trained with them for two years before continuing her training in England with Heathrow Gymnastics Club. [1]

2016–17

Castles competed at the 2016 English Championships where she placed 35th in the all-around. [5] In 2017 Castles began competing at both British and Swedish domestic competitions and decided to represent Sweden in international competitions. In April she competed at the English Championships where she placed 11th in the all-around but recorded the second highest floor exercise score amongst juniors. [6] The following month she competed at a team selection competition for the 2017 Junior Nordic Championships where she placed second in the all-around behind Tonya Paulsson but recorded the highest floor exercise score. [7] At the Junior Nordic Championships Castles helped Sweden finish in third place. Individually she finished ninth in the all-around and won gold on floor exercise ahead of Camille Rasmussen of Denmark. [8] In June she competed at the Flanders International Team Challenge where she helped Sweden finish ninth as a team, and individually she placed 18th in the all-around. [9]

In late June Castles competed at her first Swedish National Championships where she won bronze in the all-around behind Ida Staafgård and Paulsson, gold on vault and floor exercise, and silver on balance beam behind Staafgård. [10] She next represented Sweden at the European Youth Olympic Festival where she helped Sweden finish 20th as a team. Castles next competed at the Rushmoor Rosebowl where she placed seventh in the all-around and second on floor exercise behind Emily Thomas. [11] She ended the season competing at the Top Gym Tournament where she finished sixth in the all-around, first on balance beam, and second on floor exercise behind Amelie Morgan. [12]

Senior gymnastics career

2018

Castles turned senior in 2018. She competed at the British Championships as a guest and finished in fourth place amongst the other guests. [13] In June Castles competed at the Nordic Championships where she helped Sweden finish second behind Norway. Individually she won gold in the all-around, on balance beam, and on floor exercise. [14] She next competed at the Swedish National Championships where she placed first in the all-around, on balance beam, and on floor exercise. Castles was selected to represent Sweden at the European Championships. While there she qualified to the floor exercise final where she finished seventh. [15] She next competed at the Paris Challenge Cup where she qualified to the balance beam final and finished in seventh place. Castles was selected to represent Sweden at the 2018 World Championships in Doha. During qualifications she finished 47th in the all-around and 39th on floor exercise; she did not qualify for any event finals.

2019

Castles competed at the English Championships as a guest where she won silver in the all-around behind club teammate and Jamaica national team member Danusia Francis. [16] She next competed at the British Championships and won gold in the all-around. [17] Castles was once again selected to represent Sweden at the European Championships; she finished 14th in the all-around. [18] She next competed at the European Games. During qualifications she finished 24th in the all-around and did not qualify for the final; however she qualified to the floor exercise final in third place. During event finals she matched her placement and won the bronze behind Anastasia Bachynska of the Ukraine and Aneta Holasová of the Czech Republic. [19]

In September Castles competed at the British Team Championships where she placed fourth in the non-squad division. [20] Castles was selected to represent Sweden at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart. During qualifications she finished 89th in the all-around and did not qualify for the finals, nor did she qualify as an individual to the 2020 Olympic Games due to compatriot Jonna Adlerteg placing higher than her.

Collegiate gymnastics career

Castles announced that she would compete in NCAA gymnastics with the Arizona Wildcats, starting in the 2020–21 school year. [21]

2020–21 season

Castles made her NCAA debut on January 23 in a meet against Utah. She contributed scores on balance beam and floor exercise. Her 9.90 on balance beam was the highest score on the apparatus, tied with Maile O'Keefe. [22] Post season she was named Arizona's Freshman of the Year. [23]

Competitive history

YearEventTeamAA VT UB BB FX
Junior
2016 English Championships35
2017 English Championships11
Nordic Championships Bronze medal icon.svg9Gold medal icon.svg
FIT Team Challenge918
Swedish ChampionshipsBronze medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svg
European Youth Olympic Festival 20
Rushmoor Rosebowl7Silver medal icon.svg
Top Gym Tournament106Gold medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svg
Senior
2018 Nordic Championships Silver medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svg
Swedish ChampionshipsGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svg
European Championships 7
Paris Challenge Cup 7
2019 English Championships (guest)Silver medal icon.svg
British Championships (guest)Gold medal icon.svg
European Championships 14
European Games Bronze medal icon.svg
British Team Championships (non-squad)4

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Bui</span> German artistic gymnast

Kim Bui is a retired German artistic gymnast. She represented Germany at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic Games. She is the 2009 and 2014 German National Champion and the 2011 European bronze medalist on the uneven bars. In her final competition, she was part of the first German team to win a European team medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flávia Saraiva</span> Brazilian artistic gymnast

Flávia Lopes Saraiva is a Brazilian artistic gymnast. She represented Brazil at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She was part of the teams that won silver at the 2023 World Championships, gold at the 2018 South American Games and bronze at the 2015 and 2019 Pan American Games. Individually she is the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic floor exercise champion, the 2023 World Championships floor exercise bronze medalist and is a multi-medalist at the Pan American Games, South American Games, and Pan American Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauline Schäfer</span> German artistic gymnast

Pauline Sieglinde Schäfer-Betz or Pauline Schäfer is a German artistic gymnast who represented Germany at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. She is the 2017 World Champion, the 2021 World silver medalist, and the 2015 World bronze medalist on the balance beam. She was part of the bronze medal-winning German team at the 2022 European Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Filipa Martins</span> Portuguese artistic gymnast

Ana Filipa da Silva Martins is a Portuguese artistic gymnast who competed at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. She won a bronze medal at the 2015 Summer Universiade on the balance beam. She is the first Portuguese gymnast to win a World Cup gold medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zsófia Kovács (gymnast)</span> Hungarian artistic gymnast

Zsófia Kovács is a Hungarian artistic gymnast who competed at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. She is the 2017 and 2023 European all-around silver medalist, the 2020 European champion on uneven bars, as well as the 2020 and 2022 European champion on vault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia-Mae Fenton</span> British artistic gymnast

Georgia-Mae Fenton is an English artistic gymnast and a member of both the British national gymnastics team and the England Commonwealth Games gymnastics squad. She is the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth champion on uneven bars, and a member of the gold medal-winning England team in 2022. With Great Britain, she was part of the team that won silver at both the 2022 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships and 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, before winning the gold medal, the first for a British women's team, at the 2023 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amelie Morgan</span> British artistic gymnast

Amelie Morgan is a British artistic gymnast. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the team event. She is the 2021 European Championships bronze medalist on the uneven bars. Additionally, she won the silver medal in the all-around at the 2018 Youth Olympics, as well as a silver medal on the floor exercise and a bronze on the balance beam. At the 2018 Junior European Championships she won five medals —the most medals won by a British junior female gymnast at the European Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Csenge Bácskay</span> Hungarian artistic gymnast

Csenge Mária Bácskay is a Hungarian artistic gymnast and the 2018 Youth Olympic silver medalist on vault. Additionally she was a member of the team who won bronze at the 2020 European Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladislava Urazova</span> Russian artistic gymnast

Vladislava Sergeyevna Urazova is a Russian artistic gymnast. She represented the Russian Olympic Committee at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal in the team event. She was a member of the team who won gold at the inaugural Junior World Championships. Individually she is the 2019 Junior World Champion and 2021 European silver medalist on the uneven bars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viktoria Listunova</span> Russian artistic gymnast

Viktoria Viktorovna Listunova is a Russian artistic gymnast. She represented the Russian Olympic Committee at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal in the team event. She was a member of the team that won gold at the inaugural Junior World Championships. Individually, she is the 2019 Junior World all-around and floor exercise champion, the 2021 European all-around champion, and the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Russian National Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Gadirova</span> British artistic gymnast and Olympic medallist

Jennifer Gadirova is an English artistic gymnast of Irish birth and Azerbaijani descent, representing Great Britain internationally. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the team event, and was part of the Great Britain team to win silver, their best ever result, in the team event at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the same medal at the 2022 European Championships. Competing at the 2019 Junior World Championships, she won a silver medal in the vault final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ondine Achampong</span> British artistic gymnast

Ondine Achampong is a British artistic gymnast who was part of the women's team that won silver at the 2022 World Championships. She won a gold medal with the English team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and individually, Achampong won silver medals in the all-around and on floor exercise. She is the 2022 European team and balance beam silver medalist. She is the 2021 British all-around champion and the 2022 British all-around silver medalist.

Anastasiya Alistratava is a Belarusian artistic gymnast. She is the 2019 European Games uneven bars bronze medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leah Grießer</span> German artistic gymnast

Leah Grießer is a retired German artistic gymnast. She was a member of the team who won silver at the 2015 European Games and competed for Germany at the 2015 and 2018 World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonya Paulsson</span> Swedish artistic gymnast

Tonya Paulsson is a Swedish artistic gymnast. She is the 2019 and 2020 Swedish National Champion and she represented Sweden at the 2018 Youth Olympics where she was part of the Mixed NOC team who won bronze in the mixed multi-discipline team competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martina Maggio</span> Italian artistic gymnast

Martina Maggio is an Italian artistic gymnast. She represented Italy at the 2020 Olympic Games. She was a member of the gold medal winning teams at the 2022 Mediterranean Games and the 2022 European Championships. She was also the alternate for the team who won bronze at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart. Individually she is the 2022 Mediterranean Games all-around champion, the 2022 European all-around bronze medalist, the 2022 European silver medalist on floor, and 2016 European junior vault champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Gadirova</span> British artistic gymnast (born 2004)

Jessica Gadirova is an English artistic gymnast of Irish birth and Azerbaijani descent, representing Great Britain internationally. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the team event and was part of the silver medal-winning team at the 2022 World Championships and gold medal-winning team at the 2023 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camille Rasmussen</span> Danish artistic gymnast

Camille Lund Rasmussen is a Danish artistic gymnast. She represented Denmark at the inaugural junior World Championships. She is the 2020 and 2021 Danish senior national champion and is a two-time Northern European champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ada Hautala</span> Finnish artistic gymnast

Ada Hautala is a Finnish artistic gymnast. She represented Finland at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games and is the 2019 Finnish national champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Williams (gymnast)</span> Finnish artistic gymnast

Jennifer Williams is a Swedish artistic gymnast. She represented Sweden at the inaugural junior World Championships. She is a three-time Nordic junior champion.

References

  1. 1 2 "Q&A with Arizona GymCat Jessica Castles". Arizona Daily Wildcat . June 26, 2021.
  2. "Jessica Castles FIG profile". FIG .
  3. Johnson, Anna Rose (July 26, 2019). "Sweden's Jessica Castles: "I Am Hoping to Qualify to the Olympics"". Inside Gymanstics.
  4. "Jessica Castles". arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  5. "2016 English Championships Results". The Gymternet. March 19, 2016.
  6. "2017 English Championships Results". The Gymternet. April 7, 2017.
  7. "2017 Swedish Junior Selection Results". The Gymternet. May 7, 2017.
  8. "2017 Nordic Junior Championships Results". The Gymternet. May 20, 2017.
  9. "2017 FIT Challenge Results". The Gymternet. June 13, 2017.
  10. "2017 Swedish Championships Results". The Gymternet. June 30, 2017.
  11. "2017 Rushmoor Rosebowl". British Gymnewstics. October 22, 2017.
  12. "2017 Top Gym Tournament Results". The Gymternet. November 29, 2017.
  13. "2018 British Championships". British Gymnastics . March 11, 2018.
  14. "2018 Nordic Championships Results". The Gymternet. July 6, 2018.
  15. https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2018/euros/documents/wag/senaf4fx.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  16. "2019 English Championships Results". The Gymternet. March 5, 2019.
  17. "Gymnastics British Championships 2019". British Gymnastics .
  18. "8th European Men's And Women's Artistic Gymnastics Individual Championships Women Artistic Gymnastics All-around Final" (PDF). European Union of Gymnastics . April 12, 2019.
  19. "MINSK 2019 2nd EUROPEAN GAMES Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final Women" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. June 30, 2019.
  20. "2019 British Team Championships Results". The Gymternet. September 15, 2019.
  21. "Arizona Gymnastics Welcomes Six to the Class of 2024". Arizona Wildcats . December 2, 2019.
  22. "Wildcat Report: January 23". KVOA . January 23, 2021.
  23. "Gymnastics Announces 2020-21 Season Team Awards". Arizona Wildcats . May 19, 2021.