Tara Donnelly
| Tara Donnelly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Tara Megan Donnelly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Isle of Man Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former countries represented |  Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 25, 1998 Isle of Man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 162 cm (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 2013–2023 (IOM) 2015–18 (IRL) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Ellan Vannin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Valery Molchanov | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 4 February 2024[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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[edit]
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[edit]
2013[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | |||||||
| 2013 | British Championships | 17 | |||||
| British Team Championships | 11 | 21 | |||||
| Island Games |  |
7 | 5 | 
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| 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 |  |
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| Island Games | |
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| Northern European Championships | 7 | ||||||
| 2018 | Irish Championships | 4 | |||||
| 2021 | Malta International | |
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| Northern European Championships | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
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| 2022 | Scottish Championships (guest) | |
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| English Championships (guest) |
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| British Championships | 23 | 7 | |||||
| Commonwealth Games | 13 | ||||||
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ @Taradonnelly_ (February 4, 2024). "A little update 🤍" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Local gymnasts dominate 2021 Malta International". IOM Today. November 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "Gymnast explains CWG absence". Manx Radio. January 5, 2018.
- ^ "2013 British Championships Results". The Gymternet. March 24, 2013.
- ^ "Island Games 2013: Manx athletes to do 'island proud'". BBC. July 11, 2013.
- ^ "2013 Northern European Championships Results". The Gymternet. November 24, 2013.
- ^ "CWG: Tara Donnelly". Commonwealth Games.
- ^ "2015 European Championships Results". The Gymternet. April 15, 2015.
- ^ "Island Games 2017: Tara Donnelly". Island Games.
- ^ "Official news from the Executive Committee - February 2021". International Gymnastics Federation. February 25, 2021.
- ^ "2021 Northern European Championships Results". The Gymternet. November 15, 2021.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games: Isle of Man selects 32-strong team for Birmingham 2022". BBC. May 3, 2022.