TWIRLING, leaping, bending and balancing, all while remaining elegant and composed — that’s the tall order for these young athletes.
The Victorian rhythmic gymnastic team, aged between 14 and 18, attend classes fulltime while training for 20 hours each week before and after school.
All their hard work will be on show at the 2017 Australian Gymnastics Championships, which kick off this week.
Starting her gym career when she was five years old, Yingcui Chan, now 16, is the top ranked gymnast in Victoria and she is setting her sights high for her events.
“I am aiming to make the national squad and hopefully I’ll get to be in the Commonwealth Games shadow squad,” the young gymnast said.
“Gymnastics gives me really great sense of satisfaction and I like training, competing and performing.”
State team head coach Emma Tankovich said the girls were looking good for the national meet* after a strong start to the year, including a training trip to the US.
“The girls have all had a good preparation and are progressing, injury free,” Mrs Tankovich said.
“Being so isolated* we don’t have too many competitions in Australia so going to America this year was good for them all.”
While the young women Mrs Tankovich trains are very strong, it is the way they combine their strength with movement and dance that has her excited.
“It’s not pure power or strength, it’s a combination of all the elements,” coach Tankovich said.
“It’s an enjoyable sport to watch with a lot of elements.”
The 2017 Australian Gymnastics Championship are on at Hisense Arena until Sunday June 4.
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