Gymnastics gem

Berwick gymnast Joshua Hart finished second overall in the under-10 Level Four category at the Victorian Championships over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. 32150 Picture: Meagan Rogers

By Marc McGowan
BERWICK gymnast Joshua Hart is a youngster in a hurry.
The nine-year-old placed second overall in the under-10 Level Four category at the Victorian Championships over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.
Joshua, who was born in South Africa, was an agonising 0.55 of a point behind overall winner Oliver Dilnutt.
The Timbarra Primary School student also won individual gold medals in the pommel and high bar apparatus.
They were stunning results considering Joshua finished last two years ago in his only other state-level competition.
“I was happy and disappointed at the same time because I really wanted to come in first place (overall),” he said.
“I’ve improved on pommel, high bar, floor – everything. It’s really fun and active and really cool because you get to learn all these cool tricks.”
Joshua’s dramatic improvement will see him rise two levels – rather than the usual one – next season so he is at the minimum standard required to compete at the national championships.
He credits the head coach at Cheltenham Youth Club, Oskar Stanislavski, for his success, but admits he has a long way to go to reach his long-term goal of representing his adopted country at the Olympics.
Joshua’s brother, Jordan, 10, also competes in the sport and there is a friendly rivalry between the two.
They are following in the footsteps of their mother, Natalie, who used to be a gymnast, but concedes she wasn’t at the same level as her sons.
“We emigrated to Australia and were trying to find something for them to do and we decided to give them a try at gymnastics,” she said.
“The coaching has helped Joshua and, obviously, he’s so determined; he wants to win and wants to be the best.
“He trains really hard three times a week for up to three-and-a-half hours.”