Wales Star Ruby is the Jewel in Britain’s Crown

The 19-year-old, who celebrated her birthday earlier this week, made history by becoming the first Welsh gymnast in more than six decades to claim the prestigious title, edging out Ruby Stacey and Shantae-Eve Amankwaah in a closely contested final at the M&S Bank Arena.

Evans – a silver medalist on floor at last year’s World Championships – produced a triumph that was built on resilience as much as execution. 

Despite a shaky start on the balance beam, she recovered impressively across the remaining apparatus to secure victory — with her dynamic floor routine proving decisive.

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"I feel good, I'm happy. I didn't expect to win," Evans told British Gymnastics.

"I'm proud of the journey I've been on. I surprised myself with how the competition went. I started off on beam, it wasn't that good - so wobbly - my legs were shaking, everything was shaking, I couldn't wait to get off.

"Floor was decent, vault I didn't warm up well and bars that was my first one of the year and I did it.

"This gives me a lot of confidence going into the year ahead."

Her honesty captured the unpredictable nature of her performance. 

What began with visible nerves evolved into a composed and ultimately title-winning display, underlining both Evans’ potential and her ability to respond under pressure.

The Cardiff athlete’s beam routine may have lacked fluency, but she showed composure to stay on and complete her dismount. 

From there, she grew into the competition — delivering a high-quality vault and a floor exercise full of expression and difficulty that separated her from the field.

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“The atmosphere was good, I could hear all the kids in the audience cheering! This gives me a lot of confidence going into the year ahead.”

Behind Evans, Stacey delivered a consistent set of performances, including two solid vaults, and briefly threatened to take control with an excellent beam score of 13.250. 

But Evans’ superiority on floor ultimately proved the difference.

Amankwaah, representing Bristol Hawks Gym Club, also impressed as she pushed both gymnasts throughout the competition to secure a well-earned bronze medal, continuing her strong trajectory ahead of a Commonwealth Games year.

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The event was not only about new champions but also emotional returns. 

Alice Kinsella drew one of the biggest receptions of the day as she competed at the British Championships following the birth of her child last year.

Her elegant beam routine, finished with a clean dismount, brought the crowd to its feet and earned a score of 12.700.

Kinsella said: “I’m happy it’s done, I was so nervous, I wasn’t expecting much but I’m happy with how it went. It felt incredible to be back, I was so nervous, but the crowd was amazing, they got me through it.”

Earlier in the competition, the men’s all-around title was claimed by Joe Fraser, who marked a significant personal achievement in returning to compete across all six apparatus.

The 27-year-old finished ahead of Jonas Rushworth and Jake Jarman to secure the national crown.

Fraser said the title was "very special".

"Getting back doing six events has been a challenge," he said.

"Last year I opened my own club and got back on a few apparatus but getting back on all six is a whole new ball game, so to produce a British title performance I'm very proud of myself."