Gymnastics links boxers and lifters

A New Zealand Commonwealth Games boxer, weightlifters, polevaulters and a rhythmic gymnast all have one thing in common.

Among the Kiwis named for the 2018 Commonwealth Games starting in the Gold Coast in April are eight athletes all have links to the biggest gymnastics club in the country - North Harbour Gymnastics.

For weightlifter Alethea Boon, 33, this year’s Commonwealth Games would be her third. Sixteen years ago she was representing New Zealand in gymnastics at the 2002 Games in Manchester and had made her games debut in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur. When she was an international gymnast,Boon competed under the North Harbour Gymnastics banner.

Joining Boon in the weightlifting team is Cameron McTaggart who joined North Harbour Gymnastics as a 5-year-old and continued training with the club until he was 12. McTaggart’s younger sister Olivia would also compete on the Gold Coast in the pole-vault. Like her brother, McTaggart also spent time with the gymnastic club before changing sports.

Another Games pole-vaulter with a gymnastics background was Nick Southgate, who also competed for North Harbour Gymnastics as a young athlete.

Before he made a name for himself in the ring, boxer Richard Hadlow competed for North Harbour Gymnastics. Hadlowwas New Zealand’s top-ranked 64kg

‘‘We are teaching fundamental movement and core skills ’’

Mike Thompson

boxer.

Fifteen-year-old rhythmic gymnast Stella Ebert also trained at the North Harbour facility with Xtreme RhythmiX.Gold Coast 2018 would be her first Commonwealth Games and first senior international competition. Two of New Zealand’s Commonwealth Games artistic gymnasts, Misha Koudinov and Ethan Dick, also previously represented North Harbour.

North Harbour Gymnastics’ chief executive Mike Thompson was not surprised to see people with gymnastics training be successful in a varied range of sports. ‘‘A sport like gymnastics, we are teaching fundamental movement and core skills that equip children with the confidence and ability to choose whatever pathway they want … We fully expect them to want to play another sport but what we take great pride in is the fact that we are arming them with those prerequisite skills needed.’’

Richard Hadlow has switched from gymnastics to boxing. He is one of a number of athletes attending the Commonwealth Games with a background in gymnastics.