Robyn Edie / Stuff
Sasha Millett from Canterbury will compete in the Rhythmic Gymnastics Level 6 Hoop at ILT Satdium Southland on Wednesday.
Olympic bronze medalist Dylan Schmidt returns to where his career as a trampolin jumper began.
Schmidt won New Zealand’s first Olympic medal in a gymnastics discipline at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo last year.
On Thursday, he will arrive in Southland to compete in the 2022 New Zealand Gymnastics Championships to be held in Invercargill.
Schmidt’s journey to an Olympic medal began as a five-year-old in Te Anau.
He followed his older brother Callum and older sister Rachel into the sport of trampolining while living in Te Anau.
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He became the first New Zealander to claim an Olympic medal in the sport of trampolining, following his trip to Rio in 2016 when he became the first New Zealander to compete in an Olympics in the sport.
Schmidt was named ‘Gymnast of the Year 2022’ at the national championships on Wednesday.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Men’s Trampoline Bronze Medalist Dylan Schmidt poses during a team welcome ceremony for the New Zealand Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Christchurch Airport on August 16, 2021 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Schmidt, who has not competed nationally since 2016, was set to fly from Auckland on Thursday to compete in the trampoline competition on Saturday.
“Obviously it’s going to get cold, but I love the South Island and that part of New Zealand, so it’s nice to go back, and it’s nice to join again to be honest,” he said.
More than 900 athletes will compete in the championships, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday at ILT Stadium Southland.
Nigel Skelt, general manager of ILT Stadium Southland, said the event was the first major event since pre-Covid-19 times and was a signal that the stadium was back in action.
Robyn Edie / Stuff
Sophie Smith from Gymsport Manukau will participate in the Rhythmic Gymnastics Level 6 Hoop on Wednesday.
“…every piece of the venue is packed, and it’s just fantastic and there’s a great vibe to the venue,” he said.
The disciplines in which the athletes will compete are aerobics, rhythmic, trampoline (including double mini and tumbling) and artistic men and women.