Jes Kennaway and Judy Wootton

Honiton gymnast Jes Kennaway is the inaugural winner of the prestigious Patricia Wade Trophy – the highest UK accolade that an acrobatic gymnastics can be awarded for endeavour in their sport. The trophy will only be awarded to one gymnast per year, writes James Reddy.

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The annual memorial award is presented to a UK gymnast that has excelled in many areas including overcoming adversity to achieve their gymnastic goals, endeavour above the accepted norm, and providing an exceptional role model to younger gymnasts.

Jes, 16, who attends Exeter College and has trained at Honiton Gym Club since she was five years old, was selected to win the trophy because of her determination to succeed, despite being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was six.

In spite of falling into more than 10 comas in the past decade as a result of low blood-sugar levels, having to follow a strict diet, and having to inject herself five times every day, Jes has never used her diabetes as an excuse or let it affect her training. She has had a huge amount of gymnastic success over the past ten years. This includes winning several south west titles, taking the gold medal in the national development plan finals, finishing in the top 10 at the 11-16 British Championships, and taking fourth place at the Flanders International Acro Cup in Belgium. She now competes at junior international level.

James Reddy, High Performance Coach at Honiton Gym Club, said “ Jes’s type of diabetes is particularly serious because her body can’t produce its own insulin, which means that she has to plan her eating and injections carefully so that her levels are at their peak at the right time. Despite this, she never makes an issue of her illness or sees it as a disadvantage.”

In addition to her gymnastics success, Jes is also proof that sport and studies can go hand in hand, recently getting 11 GCSE’s at C or above at The Kings School, including five A/A* grades. She is now studying A-level politics, economics, business studies and art at Exeter College and ensures that she manages her time so that she can train and fit in her studies.

Jes said: “It’s a great honour to win such a prominent award, but I don’t see my diabetes as an issue at all. It’s just something that – despite being potentially fatal – is now part of my daily routine. And it would never stop me doing the sport I love.

“I remember once when I was nine years old and competing as a top, I fell into a coma in the morning and started fitting. I tumbled out of bed, cut open my forehead, and my mum had to give me an emergency shot of glucagon. I recovered after 10 minutes and had a throbbing headache, but I made my mum take me to training because it was just a week before an important competition.”

Jes received her award in front of an arena full of fellow gymnasts and spectators at the British Tournament for Acrobatic Gymnastics in Stoke on Trent.

The trophy was presented by the family of Doctor Patricia Wade, who not only brought acrobatic gymnastics to Great Britain almost forty years, but also lead the sport’s international technical committee for ten years. Patricia sadly died of cancer at the end of 2010 and asked for a memorial trophy to be handed out in the UK to a gymnast that inspired others with their determination.

Jes trains four times per week at Honiton Gym Club and is currently in preparation for the British Championships where she will compete in the women’s trio event with partners Valentine Tutcher and Rachel Palfrey.