Jessica Castles

Castles was born in West Surrey, England in 2002 to a Northern Irish father and a Swedish mother. She has two younger brothers. She grew up in Qatar, having lived there for nine years before moving back to England at age 14 in order to get better gymnastics training and coaching.{{cite web|url=https://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2021/06/s-gym-castles-q-and-a|title=Q&A with Arizona GymCat Jessica Castles|work=Arizona Daily Wildcat|date=June 26, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/athletes/bio_detail.php?id=40867&type=licence|title=Jessica Castles FIG profile|work=FIG}}{{cite web|url=https://www.insidegymnastics.com/news-features/swedens-jessica-castles-i-am-hoping-to-qualify-to-the-olympics/|title=Sweden's Jessica Castles: "I Am Hoping to Qualify to the Olympics"|work=Inside Gymanstics|first=Anna Rose|last=Johnson|date=July 26, 2019}}[https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/womens-gymnastics/roster/jessica-castles/11451 "Jessica Castles"]. arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved May 7, 2021.

Castles trained gymnastics recreationally before she was scouted by the Qatari national team when she was twelve years old. She trained with them for two years before continuing her training in England with Heathrow Gymnastics Club.

Castles competed at the 2016 English Championships where she placed 35th in the all-around.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2016/03/19/2016-english-championships-results/|title=2016 English Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=March 19, 2016}} In 2017 Castles began competing at both British and Swedish domestic competitions and decided to represent Sweden in international competitions. In April she competed at the English Championships where she placed 11th in the all-around but recorded the second highest floor exercise score amongst juniors.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2017/04/07/2017-english-championships-results/|title=2017 English Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=April 7, 2017}} The following month she competed at a team selection competition for the 2017 Junior Nordic Championships where she placed second in the all-around behind Tonya Paulsson but recorded the highest floor exercise score.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2017/05/07/2017-swedish-junior-selection-results/|title=2017 Swedish Junior Selection Results|work=The Gymternet|date=May 7, 2017}} At the Junior Nordic Championships Castles helped Sweden finish in third place. Individually she finished ninth in the all-around and won gold on floor exercise ahead of Camille Rasmussen of Denmark.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2017/05/20/2017-nordic-junior-championships-results/|title=2017 Nordic Junior Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=May 20, 2017}} In June she competed at the Flanders International Team Challenge where she helped Sweden finish ninth as a team, and individually she placed 18th in the all-around.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2017/06/13/2017-fit-challenge-results/|title=2017 FIT Challenge Results|work=The Gymternet|date=June 13, 2017}}

In late June Castles competed at her first Swedish National Championships where she won bronze in the all-around behind Ida Staafgård and Paulsson, gold on vault and floor exercise, and silver on balance beam behind Staafgård.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2017/06/30/2017-swedish-championships-results/|title=2017 Swedish Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=June 30, 2017}} She next represented Sweden at the European Youth Olympic Festival where she helped Sweden finish 20th as a team. Castles next competed at the Rushmoor Rosebowl where she placed seventh in the all-around and second on floor exercise behind Emily Thomas.{{cite web|url=https://britishgymnewstics.com/2017/10/22/2017-rushmoor-rosebowl/|title=2017 Rushmoor Rosebowl|work=British Gymnewstics|date=October 22, 2017}} She ended the season competing at the Top Gym Tournament where she finished sixth in the all-around, first on balance beam, and second on floor exercise behind Amelie Morgan.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2017/11/29/2017-top-gym-tournament-results/|title=2017 Top Gym Tournament Results|work=The Gymternet|date=November 29, 2017}}

Castles turned senior in 2018. She competed at the British Championships as a guest and finished in fourth place amongst the other guests.{{cite web|url=https://www.british-gymnastics.org/gymnastics-british-championships-2018|title=2018 British Championships|work=British Gymnastics|date=March 11, 2018}} In June Castles competed at the Nordic Championships where she helped Sweden finish second behind Norway. Individually she won gold in the all-around, on balance beam, and on floor exercise.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2018/07/06/2018-nordic-championships-results/|title=2018 Nordic Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=July 6, 2018}} She next competed at the Swedish National Championships where she placed first in the all-around, on balance beam, and on floor exercise. Castles was selected to represent Sweden at the European Championships. While there she qualified to the floor exercise final where she finished seventh. She next competed at the Paris Challenge Cup where she qualified to the balance beam final and finished in seventh place. Castles was selected to represent Sweden at the 2018 World Championships in Doha. During qualifications she finished 47th in the all-around and 39th on floor exercise; she did not qualify for any event finals.

Castles competed at the English Championships as a guest where she won silver in the all-around behind club teammate and Jamaica national team member Danusia Francis.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2019/03/05/2019-english-championships-results/|title=2019 English Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=March 5, 2019}} She next competed at the British Championships and won gold in the all-around.{{cite web|url=https://www.british-gymnastics.org/news-and-events/british-championships/mens-and-womens-artistic#results|title=Gymnastics British Championships 2019|work=British Gymnastics}} Castles was once again selected to represent Sweden at the European Championships; she finished 14th in the all-around.{{cite web|url=https://backend.europeangymnastics.com/sites/default/files/paragraph/age-group-competition-info/competition-results/SENIORS%20-%20Individual%20-%20All-Around%20Final%20AllAroundResultsWag_0.pdf|title=8th European Men's And Women's Artistic Gymnastics Individual Championships Women Artistic Gymnastics All-around Final|work=European Union of Gymnastics|date=April 12, 2019}} She next competed at the European Games. During qualifications she finished 24th in the all-around and did not qualify for the final; however she qualified to the floor exercise final in third place. During event finals she matched her placement and won the bronze behind Anastasia Bachynska of Ukraine and Aneta Holasová of the Czech Republic.{{cite web|url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2019/european-games/documents/wagfx.pdf|title=MINSK 2019 2nd EUROPEAN GAMES Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final Women|work=Gymnastics Results|date=June 30, 2019}}

In September Castles competed at the British Team Championships where she placed fourth in the non-squad division.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2019/09/15/2019-british-team-championships-results/|title=2019 British Team Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=September 15, 2019}} Castles was selected to represent Sweden at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart. During qualifications she finished 89th in the all-around and did not qualify for the finals, nor did she qualify as an individual to the 2020 Olympic Games due to compatriot Jonna Adlerteg placing higher than her.

Castles announced that she would compete in NCAA gymnastics with the Arizona Wildcats, starting in the 2020–21 school year.{{cite web|url=https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2019/12/2/arizona-gymnastics-welcomes-six-to-the-class-of-2024.aspx|title=Arizona Gymnastics Welcomes Six to the Class of 2024|work=Arizona Wildcats|date=December 2, 2019}}

Castles made her NCAA debut on January 23 in a meet against Utah. She contributed scores on balance beam and floor exercise. Her 9.90 on balance beam was the highest score on the apparatus, tied with Maile O'Keefe.{{cite web|url=https://kvoa.com/news/2021/01/23/wildcat-report-january-23/|title=Wildcat Report: January 23|work=KVOA|date=January 23, 2021}} Post season she was named Arizona's Freshman of the Year.{{cite web|url=https://arizonawildcats.com/news/2021/5/19/gymnastics-announce-2020-21-season-team-awards.aspx|title=Gymnastics Announces 2020-21 Season Team Awards|work=Arizona Wildcats|date=May 19, 2021}}

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• {{FIG|lic=40867|name=Jessica Castles}}

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Category:2002 births

Category:Living people

Category:English people of Swedish descent

Category:English people of Northern Ireland descent

Category:Swedish female artistic gymnasts

Category:Gymnasts at the 2019 European Games

Category:European Games bronze medalists for Sweden

Category:European Games medalists in gymnastics

Category:Arizona Wildcats women's gymnasts

Category:21st-century Swedish sportswomen