Mitchell Takes First National Crown
WAIS gymnastics star Lauren Mitchell has won her first national title after scoring 56.700 in the final of the all-around competition at Perth’s Challenge Stadium on Monday night.
Mitchell finished with a total of 112.325 after a much improved effort in front of her home crowd on the second night of the event, finishing well clear of Victorians Shona Morgan (107.800 points) and Britt Greeley (104.675).
It was a triumphant performance for the Beijing Olympian, who had finished fourth and second behind WAIS teammate Dasha Joura in the previous two National Championships, with the 17-year old showing no signs of her lengthy injury lay-off.
Following the event Mitchell could barely contain her excitement at winning the title at Perth’s first nationals in 15 years.
“It’s pretty exciting actually, I’m rapped,” she said.
“Towards the end it was actually more exciting than I thought it would be. It feels a bit surreal and it’s still sinking in.
“I knew this year would be a really good chance for me to win the national championships because it was in WA and there aren’t as many strong seniors, however Shona (Morgan) and Britt (Greeley) were amazing out there.”
An undoubted highlight of the night was Mitchell’s stunning new routine on the beam.
The World Cup gold medallist showed she will contend for a medal at the World Championships in London on the apparatus after scoring 15.375 points with her routine that now has a world-leading starting difficulty value of 7.2.
WAIS Coaching Group Manager Liz Chetkovich was delighted with the effort of the 17-year old particularly given her less than ideal lead up to the event.
“Absolutely thrilled with Lauren tonight,” Chetkovich said after the medal ceremony.
“She was quite nervous at the beginning of the night and she showed that she has got the maturity to handle it. She’s a little under prepared for the event, but you wouldn’t have guessed it with the way she was performing.
“Her beam was a lot better than last night. I think she started off a lot stronger and a lot more confident. Once she got into her rhythm she showed that she’s going to be a top contender this year at worlds.”
Fellow WAIS gymnast Emily Little couldn’t repeat her junior national title winning effort from 2008, with the youngster finishing in third place in the Junior International competition.
Little finished on 99.975 points after stumbling on the bars and vault, trailing Victorians Emma Collister (101.524) and Georgia Wheeler (101.450).
Both Mitchell and Little will be in action for the final time at the competition on Tuesday night, with the apparatus finals commencing at 7pm at Challenge Stadium. Tickets will be available at the door.