Olympic gymnast Alice Kinsella admits she finds it hard to put into words how she feels about her return to international competition, as her historic comeback to gymnastics continues this weekend.

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The two-time European champion was the first British artistic gymnast to return to high performance following childbirth when she finished fourth on the beam at the British Championships in March.

The 25-year-old is now gearing up for her return to international action in GB colours against France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy at Fenton Manor in Stoke on 12-13 September.

"It's a bit of a crazy feeling – it's a really strange sensation but I am really excited," Kinsella told BBC Radio Stoke.

"Just a year of doing it postpartum. "It's been a little rough training and it been a little good training. "I'm just excited to be back and to get out there. "I'm ready and doing everything I can to get back to where I was.

"It's been a rollercoaster but a good one."

Kinsella's unique return to sport is so unusual that a university research paper was written about her experience as an elite gymnast returning to the sport after childbirth.

It's been three years since her young son Parker was born in September 2025 but not a day goes by without her children and family providing motivation and she and Parker will now watch her perform at the weekend as Kinsella will do all four – beam, bars, vault and floor - for the first time.

"It's quite exciting because I've been trying to get myself back in a team and this is a really good start with a small four-way competition," said Kinsella, who trains at Park Wrekin Gymnastics Club in Shropshire.

"It's not that much of a field which is really good. I am still nervous though, it's hard to explain - it's been so long."

"I did the British Championships in March but I only did beam and that's all I was doing before really but now I'm trying to do all four and so for my body it's more everything."

"It's not like you did one piece and you can forget about it and start thinking about something else, you've got to do something else. It's been difficult."

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/gymnastics/articles/cly59z2yjpjo

Written by

Dee