Hannah Whelan

Whelan missed much of her senior year of high school due to her training. She currently attends ‘John Moores University’ in Liverpool, where she studies Sports Development. Whelan still trains thirty hours a week.

Hannah Whelan was born in Singapore and moved to Stockport, United Kingdom when she was two years old. At the age of six, Whelan began to take gymnastics lessons, and her talent was noticed shortly thereafter.

She began to train at the ‘South Manchester Gymnastics Club’ with her coach, Helen Hall. In 1997, the Whelans’ moved to Texas in the United States, and she trained at ‘Flips Gymnastic Academy’.

In 2001, her family returned to Stockport, and she resumed her training with Helen Hall at the ‘Vernon Park Gymnastic Club’. Four years later, she began training with Sarah Attwell at the ‘City of Liverpool Gymnastic Club’. Three years later she began training with Amanda Reddin.

In March 2008, Whelan competed in the ‘World Cup’ in Doha, Qatar, where she placed eighth in balance beam and eighth in floor scoring. In June of that year she placed third overall in the ‘British Championship’ in Guildford United Kingdom (score – 56.100).

Later in 2008, she competed in the ‘Summer Olympics’, which were held in Beijing, China. Her scores of 14.325 on the balance beam and 14.125 on the floor contributed to Britain’s ninth place finish.

March 2009 found Whelan in Milan for the ‘European Championship’. She placed seventeenth overall. That May she participated in the British Teams competition in Guildford and her club, ‘City of Liverpool’, took first place.

In July 2009, she returned to Guildford for ‘British Championship’. She took second in balance beam (score – 14.300), fourth on the floor, and fifth overall with a score of 52.150. She had surgery on her wrist in September of that year.

In June 2010, Whelan returned to the ‘World Cup’ in Porto, Portugal. She placed third on the floor with a score of 13.400. In July she made her third her appearance in Guildford for the ‘British Championship’. She placed second in balance beam (score – 14.100), third on uneven bars (score – 13.800), and third on the floor (score – 13.750).

In 2008, Whelan won gold for the balance beam at the British Championships in Guildford.

In 2010 and then again a year later, she took first place at the British Championships in the overall competition.