WORCESTER'S Eirini Barbu won a gold medal at the North West Open Gymnastics Championship in Wigan.

The teenager trains with Rhythmic Gymnastics Club Worcester after moving to England from Greece two years ago.

Her passion for the sport started aged five when she attended training sessions with her mother who was a coach.

With dedication and plenty of hard work Barbu competed in the Greek national competition in 2009 and finished sixth.

She is in her first year studying classical civilisation, physical education, travel and tourism and Italian at Worcester Sixth Form College after attending Tudor Grange Academy.

Moving to Worcester offered new opportunities including achieving the level one coaching certificate so she can teach skills to young children.

Barbu, who hails from Romania, also dedicates 10 hours a week to her own training which paid off with her success in the north-west.

She said: “Whenever I compete I always give my all and when I am on top of the podium and see a big smile and tears of pride on my mother’s face it makes the hard work worth it.

“My dream for the future is to keep working with young children as a coach in order to let them develop the skills and grace required to be successful in gymnastics.”