Vivian and Mitchell Compete at Korea Cup

Published On: 24 April 2014

Mitchell (centre) and Vivian (right) competed at the Korea Cup

WAIS athletes Olivia Vivian and Lauren Mitchell have competed at the 2014 Korea Cup in Incheon, with Vivian picking up a bronze medal in the final of the Un-even Bars.

The World Cup was the second international competition the pair has competed in over the past month, as they continue preparations for May’s Australian Gymnastics Championships (21 May – 1 June), which will double as selection trials for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

The Korean Cup forms part of the FIG World Cup circuit, and was held at the Namdong Stadium in Korea from April 19-20. Mitchell qualified for the final of the women’s Floor, whilst Vivian earned appearances in both the Floor and Un-even Bars finals.

In only her third competitive appearance since returning from injury, Mitchell again showed poise and style, in returning a score of 12.250 for fourth place, whilst her WAIS training partner Vivian, was one place behind in fifth – via a score of 12.050.

Vivian highlighted competition however, with a well executed performance in her Un-even Bars final, taking third place and bronze medal, following a score of 13.475.

The achievement was made all the more special for Vivian, following an all hours recovery from a badly bruised hand, sustained in competition in Brisbane the previous week, after she fell off the balance beam and was left with significant bruising and swelling.

Handy work: Olivia Vivian was able to overcome a badly bruised and swollen hand to win a bronze medal

Through a targeted recovery, Vivian was passed fit to compete, and impressed in her final, showing plenty of the tenacity that has made her a firm fan favourite within the Australian gymnastics community.

“It was a really good competition opportunity for me to see how I would pull up mentally, following a less than desirable lead up due to a hand injury,” Vivian said.

“As a result, the lead up practices weren’t what I would usually do, but I had to trust in my training and rely on experience and muscle memory to get through.”

Vivian’s recovery included doctors, physios and a tedious alarm clock to ensure the hand complaint had adequate time to recuperate.

“I’m really thankful for the medical support through WAIS that assisted my recovery,” she said. “It was definitely worth setting my alarm and waking up at random hours of the night to ice my hand, and reduce the swelling.”