SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Gymnastics team strengthens its depth in the 2024 signing class by adding Poppy-Grace Stickler. Stickler, the fourth signee for the Red Rocks, adds more international experience to the Utah lineup, having served as an alternate for the British national team in 2022 and 2023 at the World Championships. Joining an already elite signing, Stickler is set to compete alongside five-star recruits Zoe Johnson, Avery Neff, and Clara Raposo.
"We are thrilled to add Poppy to our 2024 powerhouse signing class. Poppy has a beautiful balance of artistry and power and brings a wealth of experience competing on the international stage," said head coach
Carly Dockendorf. "We look forward to supporting Poppy throughout her Olympic pursuit for Paris 2024 and will welcome her and her family on campus in the fall."
Stickler is no stranger to the big stage, having recently won a silver medal on floor and finishing fourth in the all-around at the 2023 British National Championships. She also won the all-around title in the 2023 Welsh Championships and collected gold on bars and beam and a second-place finish on floor. Stickler added to her medal count in 2023 with a first-place finish on vault at the 2nd Bundesliga Championships.
A two-time World Cup finalist, Stickler earned a silver medal on floor in Slovenia and qualified to the finals at the Paris World Cup in 2023 on both beam and floor. As one of six athletes who represented Britain, Stickler helped the British team achieve a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships, recording their best-ever result and locking down an Olympic berth for the team at the 2024 Paris games.
Stickler has been a member of the British National team since 2018 and has an impressive resume as a junior athlete as well. Stickler was the 2021 British National Champion on both vault and floor and finished in third place in the all-around at the British Championships. In 2019 she won bronze on both vault and floor at the Olympic Hopes Cup.
Poppy is the daughter of Sian Evans and Michael Stickler and has three siblings. She trains in Cardiff, Wales with her coach Tracey Skirton and attends Whitchurch High School. Stickler will make her Ute debut in 2025.