Olympics bronze medallist gymnast Beth Tweddle visited the Gym Mania gymnastics club in Fleetwood before helping to switch on the Blackpool Illuminations. Beth shows gym members her medal. 31-8-2012
The 27-year-old was honoured for her outstanding contribution to sport at a graduation ceremony at Liverpool Cathedral on Monday.
The gymnast graduated from LJMU in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Sciences.
She has competed in three Olympics and won bronze at London 2012.
Tweddle, who won the medal in the uneven bars, was aged only seven when she started gymnastics.
Within 18 months, she was ranked second in the country and went on to win World Championship titles in the asymmetric bars in 2006 and the floor in 2009. 'All-time greats'
That year she set up the company, Total Gymnastics, with Olympian swimmer Steve Parry, to help children with talent receive the support they need for their future sporting careers.
Tweddle was made an MBE in the 2010 New Year's Honours List.
LJMU Vice-Chancellor Nigel Weatherill said: "Beth is one of our most exceptional graduates and we are delighted to recognise her achievements through the conferment of an Honorary Fellowship.
"Beth continues to inspire both our students and staff and future generations of competitors through her work with schools and gymnastic clubs.
"There is no doubt that she is one of the all time greats in her sport."
Dancing on Ice champion Beth Tweddle MBE is a golden girl after being presented with lifesize sculpture of her medal-winning body.
The world champion gymnast is known for her flexibility and agility but had to strip naked and stand very still to be cast in plaster.
Beth was presented with a gold-coloured sculpture at the Museum of Liverpool by an artist from the Royal British Society of Sculptors.
The cast was created by Louise Giblin who cast the Olympic medal winner in plaster impregnated bandage at her flat in Liverpool in 2011 which took an hour to set.
It weighed 10kg but was not uncomfortable for Beth to wear because she is used to gruelling training drills wearing a 22kg jacket.
Beth said: "It was a very strange feeling to actually have the body cast done. I had to stand still for an hour which was a difficult task for me.
"It was worth it though and I think the end result is brilliant.
"I love the fact that Louise has been able to incorporate different aspects of my career - with the main theme being London."
The venue for the presentation was selected because Cheshire-born Beth has adopted Liverpool as her home town.
She trained up to world-class standard with the City of Liverpool Gymnastics Club and studied at Liverpool John Moores University.
Curator of Contemporary Collecting at the Museum Paul Gallagher said: "It's a beautiful piece."
Sculptor Louise has created the 'Olympian Series' scultpures to raise money for the brain injury charity, Headfirst.
So far she has created iconic busts of Dame Kelly Holmes, Kriss Akabusi MBE, Sally Gunnell OBE and Paralympian Darren Leach.
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