Gymmin' Miel!

When Olivia Vivian went to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 as a 19-year-old, she was the oldest woman on the gymnastics team.
Almost five years on and at an age when most gymnasts have long retired, she is far from done with the sport which has consumed close to 16 years of her life. The 23-year-old is an uneven bars specialist and has set her sights on becoming the first Australian woman to win a medal in the event at the world championships in Antwerp in October.
Vivian has been to two previous world titles, but the results she wanted have proved elusive.
Sensing this could be her last hurrah at the highest level, she is preparing to go all out later in the year.
"I have always missed out on finals by the littlest of scores," Vivian said. "I want to make sure there is no room for regret or error or there is no looking back, saying, 'If only I had done this'."
The part-time Zumba instructor said she would almost certainly have given gymnastics away had she not taken up a four-year scholarship at Oregon State University after Beijing.
Vivian originally decided to accept because she couldn't turn down a chance for a fully-funded degree, but her time there also had an unexpected result, reigniting her passion for the sport.
"It really just taught me how to love gymnastics all over again," she said.
"Gymnastically, it taught me how to perfect things and to make things big, and get those landings and get all those extra points that will make a difference in the end.
"I was challenged every day in the gym. I improved my gymnastics by going over there, when originally it had been a plan to wean off gymnastics.
"You get so mentally and physically exhausted and it is kind of a norm here in Australia after an Olympic Games that you move on. If I didn't have that college outlet, I probably would be doing something else."
Fate also intervened to prolong her career last year.
Vivian's mum, Gillian, had planned a trip to visit the US and watch the final college competitions of the year. But when she had to cancel at the last minute, Vivian decided to return to Perth to surprise her family.
The trip home coincided with the Australian Olympic trials. Vivian's decision to "have a crack" saw her win the uneven bars.
She fell just short of winning a spot on the team for London and was named as the reserve.
"Winning bars was a surprise but that is kind of what sparked my thought of, 'hey if I can podium here in Australia, I want to take that podium finish to international level for Australia'," she said.
Tragedy has also played a role in Vivian's return to Perth to pursue her sporting dreams.
Her 64-year-old father, Craig, lost his battle with a melanoma in February. Vivian had already been determined to qualify for the world titles, but losing her dad had added fuel to the fire.
"At first gymnastics helped as a coping mechanism, coming in here and keeping me busy," she said.
Vivian is currently completing an intensive 10-week block of training prior to nationals in July.
Gymnastics has come under the winning edge program and the bar has been raised on standards, meaning only those who are medal chances will be taken to Antwerp.
Vivian, who will turn 24 during trials, said she was planning a high-risk, high-reward routine.
And if things go as well as she hopes, her name could be immortalised in gymnastics.
"There is a skill that we are trying to learn in the gym and if I do complete it at world championships I will be the first to do it and it will be called the Vivian," she revealed. "That would be pretty awesome."

The daughter of WA burns expert Fiona Wood never felt like she had to jump up and down to get noticed - it just happened that way.

A second-year dentistry student, Evie Kierath, 17, leapt on to the international stage last year when she won the world junior trampolining championship in England.

She started trampolining in Year 9 and quickly rose through the ranks, training every day and competing in open divisions to test herself. 

"I'd just stopped doing gymnastics, I wanted to try something new and trampolining was a lot of fun," she said.

"There are always new skills to learn and something new you can do."

Despite being the daughter of one of Australia's most brilliant minds, she said she did not feel pressure to follow in her mother's footsteps.

 "Going into the medical field was kind of a no-brainer," she said.

"Both of my parents are in medicine and that's just what I'm interested in anyway."

 Evie said she was looking forward to competing alongside Olympians Lauren Mitchell, Emily Little and Janine Murray at the inaugural Chetkovich Cup at Challenge Stadium on October 26.

A fitness advocate, Dr Wood said the Chetkovich Cup would showcase WA's world-class gymnastics talent in an exciting format.

“Training is my number one priority and I’m skipping anything and everything to be here at the gym,” said Muntyanu, who spent much of the interview stretching on one foot. “My teachers have had a lot of planning to do with me being away but they dedicated their time to help me because they know how important this is to me.
“I’m just so thankful to have such a great community around me so that I can focus on my sport and also do well in school.” 
While both sang praises about the lengths to which their school communities have gone to accommodate their Olympic dreams, Muntyanu said the reality of competing in London hasn’t fully sunken in yet. 
“It still hasn’t actually kicked in that we are actually going there and we are actually going to be performing,” she said. “It’s still actually hard to believe that we achieved that.”

"She definitely has a chance," said Donna Strauss, co-founder of Parkettes Gymnastics. "She has to get in there and be aggressive and believe in herself. She is the new kid on the block who does not have a lot of the past experience to build on, so she has to make it happen right now."
"I'm looking forward to everything, but I don't let [the pressure] get in the way of staying focused on what I have to do to get there," said Price, who just moved up to the Senior Elite level this year and in all likelihood has this one chance at Olympic glory. She figures to be in college by the time the 2016 Games roll around.
A year ago, Price said she still had times when she doubted her ability to make some of her difficult routines. No more."I'm definitely getting over that now," she said, "because I've gone out there and seen how well I can do. I have all the confidence in myself that I need to get through this summer. I believe in myself all the way."

Clark won her first chief executive job at the age of 28, when she was made boss of GymSports New Zealand. Now 34, she heads up Gymnastics Australia; young in her field but no industry blow-in.
''Through all of this I discovered gymnastics,'' she says, as this was one of three sports identified as critical in fostering an athletic talent pool for New Zealand. ''Gymnastics, athletics and swimming: we found that if children had experiences in these sports, up until about the age of eight, it set them up for life.''
On top of her day job, Clark took on a three-month contract at New Zealand gymnastics. That's how the first CEO gig and director's position came about. In two years she quadrupled the organisation's revenue.
She also sat on a New Zealand Olympic Committee group investigating women in sport and leadership.
''It wasn't choreographed at all,'' she says. ''Talk about a sharp learning curve, I think I was on a vertical learning curve.''
While sad to uproot just as GymSports New Zealand began to fly, Clark returned home to be close to her ailing grandfather. She says her career ''took the back seat for awhile'', but in this ''resting'' phase Clark was hired by the International Paralympic Committee and wrote policy and investment strategies to grow participation. She was also recruited to the board of Australian University Sport, a position she holds still.
The Gymnastics Australia CEO job came up in April 2010, a few months after her grandfather had passed away. With her grandmother's blessing Clark moved to Melbourne.
In simple terms Clark says her job is about ''stewardship'', about serving and creating a vision for the sport.
''It's a sleeping giant and it needs to be awakened because the contribution gymnastics can make to the lives of Australian kids is simply huge,'' she says. ''And not just in sport, but in terms of brain development, education and in terms of health and then later on in life.
''I see gymnastics as the nursery of Australian sport. It's where kids can learn to experience and love movement.'' Clark wishes she had the revenue of the AFL, but with what she has she is aiming to boost a national membership of 134,000 to 150,000 in two years. There are 700 gymnastics clubs in Australia and GA is about to unveil a new national participating program, LaunchPad.

1. Radiance Basden (University of South Carolina - Track and Field)
2. Jessica Bivins (Georgia Southwestern State University - Basketball)
3. Kelly Curtis (Springfield College - Track and Field)
4. Lynette Fitts (University of North Carolina - Track and Field)
5. Sierra Gant (University of Missouri - Track and Field)
6. Ashley Hamada (Texas Tech University - Softball)
7. Chantel Jefferson (Texas Southern University - Bowling)
8. Katherine Lee (University of Akron - Track and Field)
9. Nicole Okolo (Western Carolina University - Track and Field) 
10. Amanda Rodriguez (Oregon State University - Gymnastics)
11. Elizabeth Simonin (University of Memphis - Soccer)
12. Cornell Steed (East Tennessee State University - Track and Field)
13. Curtis Walker (Virginia State University)
14. Amy Clapper (University of North Carolina - Greensboro - Basketball)
15. Kayla Conrad (University of North Florida - Cross Country)
16. Brooke Finley (University of California - Los Angeles - Softball)
17. Amanda Gifford (Husson University - Basketball)
18. Kelee Grimes (Northwestern State University - Softball)
19. Lindsay Makowicki (Hartford University - Volleyball)
20. Jamie Mera (University of Missouri - Tennis)
21. Lana Mims (University of Missouri - Track and Field)
22. Jaime Pisani (University of Arkansas - Gymnastics)
23. Danica Saxon (East Texas Baptist University - Soccer)
24. Aiyana Welsh (Long Beach State University - Cross Country)
25. Sarah Willey (North Texas University - Volleyball)
26. Hanna Wilfong (Kansas State University - Rowing) 

THERE'S no hiding in the shadows for Lauren Mitchell.
As the days and months to the Olympic Games are ticked off, the spotlight will shine brighter on the 20-year-old West Australian as she endeavours to become Australia's first female medallist in gymnastics.
The 2010 floor world champion has been fine-tuning her routines in Canberra for the past few days as part of an Australian competition camp at the AIS.
Since that breakthrough victory, Mitchell's preparations have been solely focused on being at the top of her game in London.
Even if it meant sacrificing a podium place at last year's world titles.
Mitchell unveiled an upgraded floor routine last year which she believes will give her the best chance of making history at the Olympic Games.
"Last year for me was like a test to see where I was and if I could put a few new moves into my routine in a competition environment," she said.
"That proved that I could.
"Even though I hit my routine it just wasn't the best on the day.
"Now I kind of know how to make it better so I'm that much more confident going into this year."
The floor and the beam are Mitchell's two main events, with a persistent shoulder injury meaning she is unable to train on the bars.
Mitchell described the injury as "kind of like a stress fracture" brought on by constant pounding during her long career, and puts in doubt her chances of competing in the all-around competition at the Olympics.
"We're not sure yet, we're playing it by ear," she said.
"Peggy [Australian coach Peggy Liddick] wants to put the best team out, and obviously if my bars isn't good enough then I won't be going up in bars anyway."
The Australian team flies out for competitions in the United States and Canada on Tuesday ahead of the national championships in May.
A final selection camp will be held in Canberra in June.
With only five female gymnasts, down from the usual six, making the cut for the Olympics, every chance to impress selectors is crucial, including the Pacific Rim Championships in Seattle later this month.
The biannual event features gymnastic powerhouses China, the US and Russia.
"There's a lot of big names there so it gives us a good view of where we're at before the Olympics," Mitchell said.