Australia crowned two new women’s national champions on Sunday, while former Japanese Olympian Naoya Tsukahara led the men’s all-around at the 2013 Australian Gymnastics Championships at Sydney Olympic Park.
Senior Madelaine Leydin and junior Alexandra Eade won the women’s all-around finals. Both gymnasts train at the Victorian Institute of Sport with Misha Barabach and Tracey Penaluna.
Leydin, who turns 16 on July 28, topped Amaya King Koi (Queensland) and Georgia Godwin to win her first Australian national title. …
The 15-year-old Eade, who was second all-around in 2011, topped Shannon Neate (Queensland) and Franceska Fusha (Western Australia) to win the junior all-around crown. The junior competition allowed a bonus scoring system. …
see results on IG
Traci on Couch Gymnast:
Overall it was somewhat of a disappointing competition, with far too many falls and general errors. Although having our nationals earlier in the season than many countries affords us the time to continue to watch gymnasts in upcoming training camps, it is still difficult to imagine what sort of team we will be sending to Worlds. …
… Although a lot can be said for gaining Worlds experience, I imagine head coach Peggy Liddick will not be too keen to send gymnasts who are quite simply not ready. Depending on how they perform in training camps, veterans Olivia Vivian and Mary Anne Monckton might be in contention for specialist positions. Although they may realistically only compete one apparatus, both have show solid routines with good start values, which should only improve with a little more time. Vivian in particular has the look of someone who will master her bar routine over the coming weeks, with all the elements there, she just needs to put it together. …
2013 Worlds are almost certainly not going to have the same happy endings as 2009, when superstar Lauren Mitchell had her breakout year. However, Leydin has showed she has the potential to be considered now and in the future. With junior star Alex Eade moving up to the senior division next year and Mitchell hinting of making a return for next year’s Commonwealth Games, a strong Australian team may be on the horizon.
read more – Australian Nationals Day Two Report
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