GREAT Britain junior trampoline gymnast Corey Walkes has arrived home from his first international competition of 2018 with his first gold medal of the season.

Walkes, who turned 17 last week, is coached by International Performance Coach (IPC) Susan Bramble at Quayside Trampoline & Gymnastics Club in Bridgwater alongside Great Britain Trampoline gymnast Laura Gallagher.

Walkes recently flew out to Portugal to compete as an individual in the Cascais Beach Cup, an international ‘friendly’ held near Lisbon.

He successfully competed his new voluntary routine for the first time with a three triple somersault start, impressing the judges and wowing the spectators with the highest level of both difficulty (15.4) and execution of the entire competition.

Walkes said: “It was a successful trip and a positive start to a potentially big year ahead for me.

“Thank you to everyone for all the support shown to me, especially my coach Sue Bramble. I’m really looking forward to the challenges ahead!”

This is an important year for trampolining, with the upcoming trials for the European Championships to be held in Baku in April, but before that is the Dutch Open in three weeks, for which Walkes has been selected to represent Great Britain.