Abigail 'Abbie' Roper (born 7 September 2005) is a Welsh Artistic gymnast and member of the British national team. She won gold with the Welsh national team at the 2022 and 2023 Northern European Championships and has won two world cup medals representing Great Britain.[1][2]
| Abigail Roper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abigail Roper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Abbie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 September 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Emily Roper (sister) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented |  Wales Great Britain (2024–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former countries represented |  England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of Essex (2025-2027) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Pipers Vale Gymnastics Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach(es) | Josie Hayes Rebecca Hambling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Roper trains at Pipers Vale Gymnastics Club alongside her twin sister Emily Roper who is also an artistic gymnast.[3][1]
Early life and education
editRoper attended Copleston High School in Ipswich alongside her sister, Emily.[4] In 2025 Roper and her sister began studying Sports and Exercise Science at the University of Essex, on the Colchester campus.[4]
Senior gymnastics career
edit2022
editRoper switched to the Welsh national team and competed at her first Northern European Championships in Jyväskylä, where Wales finished first in the team competition.[5][1][6]
2023
editAt her first Welsh Championships Roper won silver on vault and finished seventh in the all-around.[7]
She competed at the 2023 Leverkusen Cup alongside her sister, Emily Roper. The duo placed second in the team competition and individually Roper won gold on vault and placed fourth in the all-around.[8]
Roper was selected to compete at the 2023 Northern European Gymnastics Championships in Halmstad alongside Ruby Evans, Poppy-Grace Stickler, Evie Flage-Donovan, Annais Kamanga and her sister Emily Roper.[9] She helped Wales win the team competition and individually won bronze in the all-around and on vault.[10]
2024
editAt the 2024 Welsh Championships Roper won silver in the all-around behind Ruby Evans and ahead of her sister. She also won gold on balance beam, silver on uneven bars and bronze on vault.[11] Later at British Championships Roper placed tenth in the all-around, and finished fourth in the balance beam and floor apparatus finals.[12][13]
Roper then competed at the 2024 Szombathely Challenge Cup alongside Charlotte Booth. She made vault and balance beam finals, placing fourth and eighth respectively.[14]
2025
editAt Welsh Championships Roper competed only on beam where she won bronze.[15] At the 2025 British Championships Roper finished 14th in the all-around and won bronze on vault.[16]
Roper attended the Koper Challenge Cup where she made the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise finals. She won bronze on vault and floor exercise, and placed 5th on uneven bars.[2]
2026
editRoper competed in the all-around competition at Welsh Championships, winning gold in the national competition and bronze in the open competition.
Competitive record
edit| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | British Team Championships (junior) | 26 | |||||
| 2019 | English Championships (junior) | 38 | |||||
| British Team Championships (junior) | 19 | ||||||
| 2021 | British Championships | 14 | 5 | ||||
| 2022 | English Championships | 22 | |||||
| British Championships | 25 | ||||||
| British Team Championships |  | 4 | | ||||
| Northern European Championships |  | 10 | 5 | 4 | |||
| 2023 | Welsh Championships | 7 |  | ||||
| British Championships | 17 | 7 | |||||
| Leverkusen Cup | | 4 | | ||||
| Northern European Championships | | | | 5 | |||
| 2024 | Welsh Championships | | | | | ||
| English Championships (guest) | | | | | |||
| British Championships | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |||
| Szombathely World Challenge Cup | 4 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Rushmoor Rose Bowl | 4 | ||||||
| 2025 | Welsh Championships | | |||||
| British Championships | 14 | | |||||
| Koper World Challenge Cup | | 5 | | ||||
| 2026 | Welsh Championships | | | | |||
| Welsh Championships (open) | |
References
edit- 1 2 3 "'Historic moment' for Ipswich gymnastic club". Ipswich Star. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
- 1 2 "Brazil tops medal tally at World Challenge Cup of Koper". International Gymnast Magazine Online. 2025-05-18. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ↑ Ellisons (2023-09-28). "Ipswich gymnasts head over heels with financial support". Ellisons Solicitors. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
- 1 2 "Gymnast twins Abigail and Emily Roper on their sibling rivalry". BBC News. 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
- ↑ "2022 Northern European Championships". The Gymternet. 2022-11-21. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ↑ "'Historic moment' for Ipswich gymnastic club". East Anglian Daily Times. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
- ↑ "2023 Welsh Championships Results". The Gymternet. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ↑ "2023 Leverkusen Cup Results". The Gymternet. 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ↑ Field, Carl (2023-11-24). "All set for the 2023 artistic gymnastics Northern European Championships – how to follow". Welsh Gymnastics. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
- ↑ Field, Carl (2023-11-27). "Another hugely successful Northern Europeans for Welsh artistic gymnasts". Welsh Gymnastics. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ↑ "2024 Welsh Championships Results". The Gymternet. 2024-02-20. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ↑ "2024 British Championships Results". The Gymternet. 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ↑ "Ipswich gymnastics club 'exceeds expectations' at best ever British Championships". Ipswich Star. 2024-03-23. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
- ↑ "2024 Szombathely Challenge Cup Results". The Gymternet. 2024-10-06. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ↑ "2025 Welsh Championships Results". The Gymternet. 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ↑ "2025 British Championships Results". The Gymternet. 2025-03-25. Retrieved 2025-03-26.