Tara Donnelly

Tara Donnelly
Donnelly at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Personal information
Full name	Tara Megan Donnelly
Born	(1998-12-25) December 25, 1998 (age 26) Isle of Man
Height	162 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Gymnastics career
Country represented	Isle of Man   Great Britain
Years on national team	2013–2023 (IOM) 2015–18 (IRL)
Former countries represented	Ireland
Club	Ellan Vannin
Education	Loughborough University
Head coach(es)	Valery Molchanov
Retired	4 February 2024 [1]
Medal record Representing   Isle of Man Northern European Championships 2021 Cardiff Floor Exercise Island Games 2017 Gotland All-Around 2017 Gotland Vault 2017 Gotland Balance Beam 2017 Gotland Floor Exercise 2017 Gotland Uneven Bars 2013 Bermuda Floor Exercise

Tara Megan Donnelly (born 25 December 1998) is a retired Manx artistic gymnast. She is the 2021 Northern European champion on floor exercise. She previously represented Ireland in international competition.

Early life

Donnelly was born on the Isle of Man in 1998. She has a sister, Chloe, who is also a gymnast. ^[2] She is a dual citizen of Ireland and Great Britain. ^[3]

Gymnastics career

2013

Donnelly competed at the British Championships where she finished 17th in the junior all-around division. ^[4] She competed at the Island Games, helping the Isle of Man finish first in the team floor and vault competition and individually won bronze on floor exercise. ^[5] She next competed at the Northern European Championships where she helped the Isle of Man finish eighth as a team and individually she placed fifth on vault. ^[6]

2014

Donnelly competed at the Welsh, English, and British championships early in the year. She was selected to represent the Isle of Man at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. While there she helped Isle of Man finish 10th as a team. ^[7]

2015

In 2015 Donnelly began representing Ireland in international competition. She made her debut for Ireland at the European Championships. ^[8] Additionally she competed at the European Games and the World Championships, representing Ireland, and at the Northern European Championships representing the Isle of Man.

2017

Donnelly competed at the English Championships and the Irish Championships, winning silver in the all-around at the latter. In June she competed at the Island Games where she dominated the competition. She helped Isle of Man finish first in the team floor and vault event and individually she won gold in the all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise and silver on uneven bars. ^[9] She competed at the Northern European Championships, representing Ireland. She helped the team finish seventh.

2018

Donnelly competed at the Irish Championships in early 2018. She was slated to compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games as part of the Manx delegation; however she was unable to do so due to representing Ireland opposed to Great Britain in international competition. ^[3]

2021

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and no longer representing Ireland in international competition, Donnelly did not compete again until 2021. In early 2021 her nationality change officially went through and her FIG license was officially updated to Great Britain. ^[10] In November Donnelly competed at the Malta International where she placed first in the all-around and on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. She won bronze on the uneven bars behind Ella Borg of Malta and fellow Manx gymnast Lucy Worthington. ^[2] Donnelly next competed at the Northern European Championships. While there she helped Isle of Man finish sixth as a team and individually she finished first on floor exercise, fourth in the all-around, sixth on balance beam, and seventh on vault. ^[11]

2022

In early 2022 Donnelly competed at the Scottish, English, and British Championships. Due to her results at these various championships she was chosen to represent the Isle of Man at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. ^[12] While there she qualified to the all-around final where she finished 13th.

Competitive history

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
2013	British Championships		17
	British Team Championships	11	21
	Island Games		7		5
	Northern European Championships	8	28	5
Senior
2014	Welsh Championships		7
	English Championships (guest)		5
	British Championships		20	6
	Commonwealth Games	10	25
2015
	European Championships		44
	FIT Challenge	8	33
	European Games	18	56
	Northern European Championships		22
	World Championships		159
2017	English Championships (guest)		5
	Irish Championships
	Island Games
	Northern European Championships	7
2018	Irish Championships			4
2021	Malta International
	Northern European Championships	6	4	7		6
2022	Scottish Championships (guest)
	English Championships (guest)
	British Championships		23	7
	Commonwealth Games		13

See also

• Nationality changes in gymnastics

References

1. @Taradonnelly_ (February 4, 2024). "A little update 🤍" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
2. "Local gymnasts dominate 2021 Malta International". IOM Today . November 25, 2021.
3. "Gymnast explains CWG absence". Manx Radio . January 5, 2018.
4. "2013 British Championships Results". The Gymternet. March 24, 2013.
5. "Island Games 2013: Manx athletes to do 'island proud'". BBC . July 11, 2013.
6. "2013 Northern European Championships Results". The Gymternet. November 24, 2013.
7. "CWG: Tara Donnelly". Commonwealth Games . Archived from the original on 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
8. "2015 European Championships Results". The Gymternet. April 15, 2015.
9. "Island Games 2017: Tara Donnelly". Island Games .
10. "Official news from the Executive Committee - February 2021". International Gymnastics Federation . February 25, 2021.
11. "2021 Northern European Championships Results". The Gymternet. November 15, 2021.
12. "Commonwealth Games: Isle of Man selects 32-strong team for Birmingham 2022". BBC . May 3, 2022.

External links

• Tara Donnelly at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Tara Donnelly at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)