Gymnasts rise to state challenge
Wimmera gymnasts enjoyed success at a state championship event at the weekend.
Natimuk and District Gymnastic Club’s Hailey Puls and Brooklyn Fraser, competing in level nine, and Lani Jones and Myssi Patterson, level eight, progressed to Gymnastics Senior Victorian Championships after confidence-boosting performances at a trial event.
The club’s men’s artistic gymnasts Remi and Eli Bailey also qualified for the championships at Geelong Arena after strong trial performances.
Hailey placed fifth on floor and Lani fourth on beam and sixth overall.
Eli, competing in level five, won a bronze medal on high bar and placed fourth on floor, fifth on vault and sixth on rings and parallel-bars, finishing sixth overall. His older brother Remi placed fourth on highbar, parallel-bars and vault, fifth on floor and sixth on pommel, finishing in fourth place overall.
Head coach Lynette Morrow was thrilled with her charges’ performances, highlighting the number of competitors and quality of competition across the three levels.
“Our gymnasts have trained hard for the competition and they deserve the recognition,” she said.
“It was tough, the standard across all levels was extremely high and had lifted since the trials.
“For Lani, Myssi and Brooklyn this was the first time they had qualified and competed at state championships. They all represented the club well and were certainly competitive with other clubs.
“To come away with a place is such an achievement. “It was a great experience.” Morrow said there was much excitement from the gymnasts, coaches and the club leading up to the championships, coming off two years of no competitions.
“Interrupted training and no competitions made things harder for the kids, but it was exciting,” she said.
“We are optimistic our training and competition year will go ahead as planned.
“We have lots to look forward to.”