Triple Olympic Treat for WAIS Gymnasts
The Western Australian Institute of Sport has secured three spots on the Australian Gymnastics team after Dasha Joura, Lauren Mitchell and Olivia Vivian were all named in the squad of six girls to compete in this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing.
The announcement was made on Monday after a week long trial in Canberra firmed selectors minds, with the Beijing bound team considered a genuine medal chance.
The inclusion of Joura and Mitchell came as no surprise, but Vivian had been involved in a nerve jangling three-way battle for the last spot on the team.
After a series of impressive routines on her specialty apparatus, the uneven bars, national Coach Peggy Liddick included Vivian for what will be her first Olympic campaign, along with her WAIS training partners.
“I feel that we have picked the strongest team. The bottom line was their potential to contribute to the team score, and if all else was equal there, we had to go with international experience,” Liddick said.
Joura will bear the largest load of expectation in Beijing after forging herself a strong international reputation after some scintillating performances in the last two years.
WAIS Head of Gymnastics and Olympic commentator Liz Chetkovich believes that Joura, 18, has the Olympic X-factor quality.
“Joura has real star qualities and is the full package in gymnastic terms,” Chetkovich explained.
“She has style and grabs the attention whenever she competes in the company of the world’s best and would be a top-five contender all around and a medal prospect on the floor.
“We have noticed that the gap between her very best and weakest performance is narrowing all the time which is a great sign because it indicates a level of consistency difficult to achieve in gymnastics.”
Lauren Mitchell is the youngest member of the Australian team at 16 years of age, and finished second behind Joura at the National titles recently. Mitchell is considered a strong prospect on the beam and floor routines.
Australia has never won an artistic gymnastics medal at the Olympics and Liddick believes her team has the talent and depth to create history in Beijing.
“On paper, USA and China have the numbers and will go in as favourites. Russia and Romania are also very strong, but we’re right up there. If we can turn those stats that we have into reality on the day, we’re in contention for that bronze medal.”
Chetkovich also shared the view that Australia can bring home bronze.
“China and the US are clearly the best in the world but we slot in behind them with a chance of winning bronze with Romania, Russia and Ukraine our strongest rivals,” Chetkovich said.
With half the national gymnastics squad heralding from Western Australia, it is a strong reminder of the fantastic work being carried out by the WAIS gymnastics program and its team of coaches and supporters.
The all-important women’s artistic qualification round at the Olympic Games is scheduled for Sunday, 10 August, at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Australia will meet the USA, China, Romania, Russia, Italy, Great Britain, France, Brazil, Ukraine, Germany and Japan for a shot at Olympic glory.