Johannesburg - Claudia Cummins of the Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre won the all round Junior African Gymnastics Championships in Walvis Bay, Namibia and qualified for the Youth Olympics scheduled to take place in Singapore in August.
Fellow club member, Kirsten Beckett, won silver and the duo together with Makeeda Pekhani and Bianca Mann, made it into the apparatus finals and should win more medals over the next few days.
Cummins beat Beckett and Egypt´s Saad Mai 49,800 - 48,350 - 48,150.
"It is great news. There are so many medals up for grabs at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics and South Africa should be competing for those," said Gideon Sam, president of Sascoc.
The coaches of Silvia´s Gymnastics of Pennsylvania, identified Cummins during the SA Gymnastics Safari 15 months ago and invited her to spend a month with them.
Last month Cummins won the all-round silver medal at the Walt Disney Classic in Orlando, Florida, after again spending time at Silvia´s.
Jennifer Kwela won bronze in the all round event for seniors.
Only four countries, South Africa, Egypt, Namibia and Algeria, are taking part with former African champions, Morocco, as well as Nigeria, Tunisia and Zimbabwe absent.
The South African men competre Thursday against much stiffer competition. - Sapa