As the build-up to the next Commonwealth Games gathers pace, Welsh Gymnastics is shining a light on the theme of Coach Legacy, celebrating the vital role coaches play in shaping athletes and inspiring future generations. Few stories capture that journey better than Laura Halford’s. A rhythmic gymnast who once stood proudly on the podium for Wales, later guided the national rhythmic squads as a coach, and now runs her own club in Cardiff. Laura’s path shows how experiences on the competition floor can grow into a lasting legacy.
Her first taste of the Games came in Glasgow 2014, where she made her Commonwealth debut in rhythmic gymnastics. Still a young senior, Laura went in with no expectations, she simply wanted to do her best on the international stage. But the competition quickly became a defining moment. Alongside her teammates, she helped Wales to a silver medal in the team event. “When I saw we were in second place, I couldn’t believe it,” she remembers. “Winning two more medals after that was honestly beyond anything I’d imagined.” For Laura, the atmosphere was unforgettable: a crowd filled with family, friends, and passionate Welsh supporters who cheered every routine and made the arena feel like home.
By the time the Gold Coast Games arrived in 2018, rhythmic gymnastics once again put her under the spotlight, but the experience was very different. After such a successful debut, Laura put huge pressure on herself to match those results. The preparation was tougher, and the build-up more stressful. She worked closely with psychologists to manage the weight she carried going into competition. That’s why her silver medal in the hoop meant so much. It was more than an achievement, it was proof of resilience after years of hard work, a release of pressure, and a reminder that she could deliver when it mattered most.
Her passion for representing Wales stretched back long before those medals. Watching Frankie Jones win silver in Delhi had been the spark that set Laura’s dream in motion. She looked up to Frankie, and when the day came that she could wear the Welsh dragon on her leotard, it felt like the culmination of that dream. “It was such a huge honour,” she says, and one that made the Commonwealth Games stand apart, the one major event where gymnasts could represent Wales rather than Great Britain.
When her own time competing came to an end, Laura didn’t step away. Instead, she found a new purpose. She began coaching the Welsh Rhythmic squads, bringing the lessons she had learned on the floor into the gym. Very quickly, she discovered how rewarding it was to help others chase their goals and see their effort pay off. What she hadn’t expected was how different the journey would be for each gymnast. “As a gymnast, I was fortunate to have success from a young age, and when I first started coaching, I assumed that would be the case for everyone,” she admits. “But it’s really not. I’ve learned to trust the process and focus on the bigger picture. The most important thing is that the gymnasts are happy, healthy, and enjoying what they do.”
That philosophy continues to shape her work today. Laura has recently opened her own club in Cardiff, offering both general and rhythmic gymnastics at a recreational level, with plans to expand into performance pathways and more disciplines in the future. The change has been a big one, from coaching performance pathway gymnasts under Welsh Gymnastics to starting something new and community-focused, but it’s a challenge she embraces. At the heart of it all is her determination to make rhythmic gymnastics more visible and accessible, to raise awareness of a discipline that is still relatively unknown in Wales, and to give more children the chance to discover its beauty.
For Laura, coaching is about more than passing on routines and skills. It’s about instilling values. “Talent can only take you so far,” she says. “It’s the effort, dedication, and love for what you do that really make the difference.” She hopes the gymnasts she coaches will look back and remember the environment she created, one where they felt supported, valued, and confident, and where they learned lessons that went far beyond the carpet.
Her story is a reminder of what coaching can mean: the chance to shape not just athletes, but people, and to carry forward a legacy that lasts well beyond medals.
Inspired by Laura’s journey? If you’re ready to begin your own coaching story or want to expand your skills, explore our Coaching Courses and take the next step here.