Oli Porter

Oli has arguably encountered the biggest roller-coaster of a journey of all the Porter Brothers!

Inspired by big brother Josh, Oli showed an early interest in Gymnastics, but showed a greater interest in cleaning and gardening at home! Oli didn’t necessarily show the early signs of being a talented gymnast, but enjoyed going to his Kinder Gym classes at Woking Gymnastics Club with his brother.

The real turning point came in 2013 when Oli was competing at the Woking Gymnastics Club festival and watched the other boys in his group receive their medals, leaving Oli sitting out without his own! Oli was perplexed that he didn’t have his own medal and had to have it explained to him that you only get a medal if you perform really well and work really hard. That was all that Oli needed to hear as he started in earnest his journey into competitive gymnastics…

Oli won the Woking Gymnastics Club festival the following year and went on to achieve multiple medals and titles in regional gymnastics competitions throughout 2014 and 2015.

In 2016, Oli achieved a very commendable 2nd place at the National Grade Finals in Birmingham. This result earned Oli a place in the GB National Squad, which required him to attend a number of 3-4 day training camps in Lilleshall, Shropshire. This was a fantastic achievement, but Oli soon learned that the demands of staying away from home for these training camps brought about their own challenges. Being 9 years of age and being away from his family and friends for long periods of time was difficult for Oli, and he suffered bouts of homesickness throughout the year.

The 2017 National Grade Finals brought a further challenge when Oli suffered a ‘mind-block’ on the pommel horse and scored a ‘0’, which resulted in a lower than expected all around score. Oli finished a disappointing 17th place. Although Oli was invited to trial for the national squad, he unfortunately lost his place.

Oli needed to work hard with his personal coach, Grant Gardiner, on both the physical and mental side of gymnastics, and in September 2018, Oli’s efforts were rewarded when he won the prestigious London Open Gymnastics Competition. Oli followed this up in November by winning the National Elite Grade finals in Birmingham, a huge achievement following such a disappointing result the previous year. Following a successful trial, Oli was invited back into the GB Development Squad.

This success was a true testament to Oli and Grant’s commitment, hard work and positive approach to gymnastics. Oli is a naturally gifted gymnast who is extremely brave and hard working. He is an ideal physical build for gymnastics, showing great strength whilst being slight in stature, and is extremely talented on the high bar, parallel bars and rings. Oli is very charismatic in the gym, but switches to a serious, competitive gymnast when competing.

In 2019, Oli’s personal coach Grant Gardiner left Woking Gymnastics Club, and Oli needed to begin a new journey with a new personal coach, Sacha El-Hasi. Fortunately, the two bonded almost immediately and the future looked very bright for the two of them.

However, following the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Sacha left Woking GC and Oli continued his journey with Craig Woodhams, who was now coaching all three brothers!

Oli’s positive attitude and hard work was recognised in 2021 as he was awarded the Woking Young Sports Personality of the year, and he continued to progress in the gym regularly hitting good scores and winning medals in all the major competitions. Oli was selected for the England squad in 2022, and won his first call-up to represent his country in Austria later in the year.

Now in the oldest Junior category, Oli is challenging himself to compete harder routines. Never one to back down from a challenge, Oli is pushing his gymnastics to his limits, which doesn’t always end the way he wants. But he never gives up and we look forward to seeing his next steps….