Keira Rolston-Larking (WEGC) left and Ava Baddeley (QMC) representing New Zealand at the recent Pan Pacific Championships in Columbia.

Story courtesy of College Sport Media

When Wellington East Girls’ College year 13 student Keira Rolston-Larking sits down to watch the often-spectacular Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Competition at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris she will be familiar with many of the athletes involved, having competed alongside them at past World Cup and World Championships events.

The best in the world and ultimate benchmark in her sport is American Simone Biles, winner of multiple golds and 37 medals overall at World and Olympic Games.

“I haven’t competed against her in my previous competitions overseas, because she was having a break at the time, “Keira told College Sport Wellington, “But now she is back, hopefully I can one day soon.”

Keira was on the long list for this year’s Olympic Games in Paris and recently travelled to Cali, Columbia with the New Zealand team for the Pan-Pacific Rim Championships, an experience she gained a lot from.

“A big part of this was a team event, and our team finished in the top five.”

Also included in the five-strong team at the Pan-Pac Championships was Ava Baddeley, who is year 12 at Queen Margaret College. A third member was Jun MacDonald, also still at school at Christchurch. The other two were older.

Individually, Ava finished fifth in the Floor final, beaten by gymnasts from the USA and Canada.

There are four Apparatus used in women’s artistic gymnastics: Vault, Beam, Floor and Uneven Bars.

Keira and Ava are training partners and are members of the Capital Gymnastics Club, based at the Te Whaea building in Newtown. Their coach is Tracy Sharp.

Sharp has been their coach since they started the sport aged around five and said both have promise to go further in what is a truly global sport in the future.

 “My goals at the moment are to aim for the next Olympics in 2028,” said Keira.

Just one women’s artistic gymnast is representing New Zealand this time around in Paris, 29-year-old Australian-based Georgia Rose-Brown.

Sharp said that apart from her dedication in long hours training and motivation to success, two of Keira’s best attributes are her Power and artistry.

Returning from Colombia, Keira was back competing at the end of June for her club in Auckland, in a pre-qualification competition ahead of Nationals, shaking off recent injury niggles.

“I did pretty good, but I wasn’t able to do all my full core skills on my apparatus’, but it was good to put a routine together and get back out there.”

The next major competition is Nationals, which are in Palmerston North in October- where she has competed in several times previously.

The next Commonwealth Games are still up in the air, as Keira, Ava and their contemporaries all wait to see whether they go ahead.

Keira’s recent trip to Columbia was the latest in several trips she been on overseas in recent years.

In early 2020, Sharp (along with fellow coach Ebony Matenga) took a group of three young gymnasts, Keira, Ava and Reece Cobb (Bay of Plenty) over to Texas for a training camp and to gain experience, training in an elite gym club and competing in local competitions. Their experience paid off, as on their return all three were selected from a trial to compete for New Zealand at the home Pan-Pac Championships that year.  Sadly, this event was subsequently cancelled soon after their selection, around the time of the first Covid 19 lockdown.

2022 was a busy first Senior year for Keira, first going overseas to compete in World Cup competitions in Doha and Germany, where she met success.

 “I made a few finals. In Germany I made a Vault final and in Doha I made the Floor final but got Covid and couldn’t compete.”

A typical final will be the top eight out of a field of about 30, in what is a truly international sport.

She returned to this part of the world to compete in the Oceania Championships in Australia and whilst there qualified to go to the World Championships in Liverpool, where she got to rub shoulders with and watch up close the best gymnasts in the world. Being 15 still at the time of her departure, she was one of the youngest gymnasts there.

“Qualifying for the finals in those two apparatuses in Germany and Doha and then making it to the Worlds was amazing, and definitely highlights so far.”

She nominated Vault and Floor as leading apparatuses. “I am quite fast and powerful, so they are my strengths.”

Like all similar sports, training is often and full-on. “I train every day apart from Wednesday and Sunday at the moment.”

“I started competing when I was five. I got into it because my older sister was doing it before me, so I always looked up to her and I wanted to do the flips and stuff that she was doing.”

It took off from there and is showing no signs of slowing down.

In the history of Olympic and Commonwealth Games, New Zealand has only ever won two individual medals in women’s artistic gymnastics. Auckland teenager Nikki Jenkins won gold in the Vault at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games and four years later then-Queen Margaret College, Wellington student Sarah Thompson won bronze in the Uneven Bars at Victoria, Canada.

If Keira and Ava stick at it, they could join that pair with medals around their necks in the future.

Ava Baddeley (QMC) left and Keira Rolston-Larking (WEGC), two Wellingtonians and New Zealand Artistic Gymnasts.

Article added: Monday 15 July 2024