Gymmin' Miel!

World renowned choreographer, Adriana Pop, was in attendance and provided her usual creative injections to the gymnast’s choreography.  Larrissa Miller, who flew in from the Zibo, China World Cup, finally received her new floor routine and it is gorgeous. Nikki Chung, Emily Little and Lauren Mitchell (who also flew in from Zibo), also had their routines touched up by Adriana, who choreographed their routines last November.  Shar-lee Clark and Angela Donald also received some injections of Adriana’s creativity, as she added to their already existing routines.Along with Lauren Mitchell, also in attendance were fellow Beijing Olympians, Ashleigh Brennan, Dasha Joura and Georgia Bonora. Both Dasha and Georgia made a good showing and are making progress towards a full competitive program.  Chloe Sims performed three apparatus at the verification and is also on the way to full fitness after shoulder surgery last August.  Dasha only performed on vault, but worked floor all week. Ashleigh verified four apparatus.Georgia Rose Brown, Mary-Anne Monckton and Zoe Lorenzin verified in the all-around, all showing considerable upgrades and improvements. Georgia Wheeler was limited with a leg injury, but is expected to be at full strength by Nationals.Amaya King Koi, Katie Wurth and Shar-lee Clark verified in the all-around as well, all three gymnasts had limited preparation, but performed to their maximum.

GYMNAST Lauren Mitchell is hoping the past mirrors the future as she prepares for a busy six months of competition.

Mitchell, 19 next month, has had an injury-interrupted start to 2010 after breaking her wrist late last year and then badly rolling her ankle a few months later.

Now back in full training, Mitchell is confident she can match last year's record-breaking feats, which saw her claim two silver medals at the world championships.

"It's kind of the same as last year when I had a rib injury, so I'm taking it as a good omen," she said.

"I missed the first half of last year and blitzed the second, so I hope to do the same again this year."

Mitchell returned from the championships in London to a heroine's welcome.

While her dual silver medal result is the best by an Australian at an international gymnastics meet, she insists her newfound status as the nation's greatest gymnast has not changed her approach to the sport.

"I'm still the same gymnast and everyone out there is still training, still getting better, so I still have to train to get better and I know I can improve," she said.

"The only pressure and expectation is the one I put on myself. I know all I have to do is what I did last time, but at the end of the day my best will get me there."

After a quicker-than-expected recovery from her double injury blow, Mitchell will spend the next two weeks preparing for the national championships in Perth, starting on July 5.

The nationals will double as selection trials for the Commonwealth Games in October.

Mitchell will make her Games debut in Delhi, if selected, after missing out on competing at the Melbourne Games in 2006 due to injury.

Fellow WA gymnasts Daria Joura and Emma Little will not compete at the national championships as they continue their recoveries from ankle and elbow injuries.

Mitchell hopes to feature among the individual medals in Delhi, but her primary aim is to guide the Australian team to top honours. And she is not fazed by the security fears surrounding the Games, but is advising her parents to stay home and save their money.

"If the organising committee say it's safe, then I trust them that it's safe to go," she said. "I think because I've been to the Olympics before, I know what to expect, so I don't really think it will be that much different to Beijing (2008 Olympics)."

Nationals are an event which simulates the toughest structure of competition – it is really a case of survival of the fittest, an endurance event of three full competition days.

National Championships continues to be one of my favourite competitions of the year. It’s always a jovial affair, travelling with all the girls from our home gym with whom we share many memories and experiences. Also, it’s a home game. When we compete on the international stage, we represent Australia and the fact that we are from WAIS can be easily overlooked.

I don’t often get the opportunity to officially represent WAIS, and Nationals is the perfect occasion for a bit of West Aussie pride. I think that it’s important to recognise and acknowledge the origin of our foundations – the darkroom where our skills have developed (no negatives involved, however!).

Arriving back in Perth just in time for exams was a congratulatory treat, and a great way to settle and ground me into “everyday life” after Moscow.

22 May, 2008

A stunning floor routine by defending champion Daria Joura has the West Australian on track to win a third consecutive all-around title at the Australian Championships and Olympic selection trials at Vodafone Arena in Melbourne.

Joura produced a flawless floor routine, including a quadruple pirouette for the first time in competition, to score a personal best total of 15.75, the best score in the world this year, and an effort that would almost certainly put her into medal calculations in Beijing if reproduced on the Olympic stage.

Joura was most impressive on all four apparatus, and with a first day all-around total of 61.600 that eclipsed her personal best she confirmed Head Coach Peggy Riddick’s belief that the 18-year-old West Australian is a definite medal chance come August.

“It will take at least that to be in the top five and as far as I know Cheng Fei scored a 15.7 last week at the world Cup in China and I haven’t seen a floor higher than that this year.”

Fei, the 2006 world champion on floor, is seen by many as the standard to beat at her home Games and Joura’s effort will have the world cup winner on floor and a silver medallist at the Pacific Rim Championships earlier this year, high on the list of medal chances in Beijing.

“There’s still some bugs to be worked out for sure but it was really pleasing to see. There were some new skills thrown today and they were completed successfully,” Liddick said.

For her part, despite the magnitude of her efforts, Joura was not letting the prospect of Games success distract her.

“That was definitely the best floor I’ve ever done,” Joura said.

“I had a quad turn as well which went great and they counted that. The competition is my best scorewise and to score well over 61[D1] I’m pretty happy with that. The best thing though is that there is so much to improve on.”

Victorian Shona Morgan, a 2007 world championships representative, produced the best score of her career (60.400) to lead Victoria to the team’s title. Morgan was ably supported by teammates Ashleigh Brennan (59.450) and Emma Dennis (58.200) who all strengthened their claims for an Olympic team spot with solid performances.

The surprise was Joura’s West Australian teammate Lauren Mitchell who got off to a horror start on bars and despite improved efforts on the remaining apparatus, lies in 5th spot with 57.15, just ahead of Victorian Georgia Bonora (56.800), WA’s Olivia Vivian (55.225) and Queenslander Amber Fulljames (54.200) who rounds out the top eight.

The men’s all-around final will be held tonight with the women’s final concluding tomorrow night at Vodafone Arena.

Gymnastics Australia

Go Dash! You know I'd actually not thought of her floor score in those terms. Miss Joura you are fantastic and you go girl!!