Tumbler from Glasgow earns Scotland's first World Medal

Demi Adams achieved the historic result at the 2021 Trampoline, Tumbling & DMT World Age Group Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The 19-year old college student competed as part of Team GB and earned a silver medal in her age group.

She said: "Being the second in the world was an unreal experience.

"It was the best feeling, I was so proud of myself. I don't even know how to describe the feeling, it was just amazing."

Tumbling is a gymnastics discipline, where athletes perform a series of acrobatic skills on a soft surface.

Demi has been training at the Sapphire Gymnastics Academy in the city's North.

The gym is also a registered charity and has been operating since 2010.

Today, they work with over 600 gymnasts and have three Glasgow locations.

Demi started attending sessions when the club opened, 12 years ago.

She briefly quit tumbling in 2019, deciding to focus on her mental health and returned in 2020, ready to take on a new challenge.

The break allowed her to work on her anxiety and reignite her love for the sport and set a goal for herself that she could work towards.

READ MORE: Plans to transform former Glasgow care home into apartments with sauna and gym

During lockdown, when most people were staying at home with nothing to do, she trained tirelessly.

Her aim was to improve her previous World Championship result, sixth place.

Standing on the podium in Baku, she said, and seeing all the hard work paying off was a life-changing experience.

She added: "I never thought I would be here. I did train very hard and this was my goal, but I always set high goals, and I aim there.

"But I never expected to be a World medallist, I couldn't believe it.

"Now, I am looking forward to my next goal, next year.

"But it is a lot of pressure because now a lot of people know who I am in the tumbling industry.

"A lot of people I didn't know before were congratulating me."

Demi's coaches, sisters Jasmine and Danielle Lessani, along with her family and friends are extremely proud of her and celebrated the achievement on her return.

Cake, gifts, balloons and loud cheer awaited the star gymnast, who couldn't wait to share her stories.

She said: "I am so grateful for my coaches, I wouldn't be here without them.

"When I was eight and starting out, my two coaches weren't really qualified yet, so we started our journey together.

"Every exam they had, I was there with them and every competition I had, they were right behind me."

With her performance, Demi is officially the first Scottish gymnast to have earned a medal at a World Championship in tumbling.

The taste of success is even more intoxicating, she said, knowing that she got here first.

More than a shiny silver medal and experience, Demi also gained good friends, on this journey, who were her Team GB teammates.

Returning to Maryhill, she is excited about the future and hopeful that this is not the last we hear from her.