| Athlete in Focus - Lauren Mitchell |
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The eighteen year old’s double silver medal performance at the 2009 London World Championships will be spoken of for generations to come. In placing second in both the balance beam and the floor, Mitchell became the first ever Australian gymnast to win multiple medals at the same world class event and is now the first Aussie female to medal in an individual apparatus final. No Australian athlete has ever placed higher than Mitchell at a gymnastics World Championships. Simply summarised, her efforts were historically sensational. Mitchell qualified for the balance beam final in fifth place and found herself having to watch all her competitor’s routines before she got her opportunity to shine. Undaunted by the occasion, and focused on her goal, the student from Subiaco impressed the judging panel into deliberating a score of 14.875, good enough for her first silver medal. The second came on the floor, after some incredible tumbling led to a final score of 14.550. WCSN subscribers can watch Lauren's silver medal winning performances, and all of the action from the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships from London's O2 Arena by clicking here. “My routines were performed like I train,” explained Mitchell. “I was really happy with that and I know that there is still room for improvement.” Upon her return to Perth, Mitchell was presented with a testing challenge of a different variety. After competing against the finest athletes her sport can offer, she finds herself buried in books preparing to tackle her final set of important high school exams. Earlier in the year she was dominant at the Australian National Titles in Canberra winning gold in the uneven bars, floor, balance beam and all-around competitions. In 2007, as a sixteen year old competing in her first season as a senior gymnast, Mitchell was crowned the Australian balance beam champion. She continued to allude to her potential at the Stuttgart World Championships finishing 5th on the same apparatus. Mitchell got her first taste of Olympic gymnastics at Beijing in 2008 as a member of the Australian all-around team which finished in sixth place. Understandably, her long term goal is to be competitive at the 2012 Olympics in London, to be held at the same arena where Mitchell secured her two World Championship silver medals. "We competed in the same arena that we are going to compete at in London so that was an amazing experience,” Mitchell explained. “I'm looking forward to the next couple of years. Beijing was just one kind of stepping stone and that was one experience and now we are going through the next four years.” On the horizon, Mitchell will compete in the Pacific Rim Championships in April in Melbourne and then prepare for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. “This (result) has made me more determined”, explained the excited National Champion and World Champion silver medalist. “Now I have a feel for it I want more”, said Mitchell, and she was not referring to her exams! WCSN Video on Demand All-Around Finals - Men's For other WCSN "Athlete in Focus" articles, simply click here. |
Western Australian Lauren Mitchell is one of her country’s all time great gymnasts.