South Australian gymnast will be forced to watch the Olympics on TV even if he is Australia’s No. 1
The rising star of Australian men’s artistic gymnastics, SA’s Jesse Moore, will miss the Tokyo Olympics despite closing in on the nation’s top ranking. Plus all the latest from around the state in Ben Hook’s weekly wrap.
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For Jesse Moore, the computer says no.
At just 16 years of age, he is tracking towards a ranking of Australia’s number one male artistic gymnast, the position that guarantees a berth at the Tokyo Olympics.
But even if he is the nation’s best, Moore will be sitting at home in Adelaide watching the Games on television with the rest of us.
Why?
“Because he’s too young,” his coach Paul Szyjko said.
“Jesse could arguably be the best senior gymnast in the country by this time next year, he could have the highest score going and not go to the Olympics.
“It’s an international rule. For Olympics and world championships, you can’t compete as a senior until you’re turning 18 that year.”
While it seems harsh on Australia’s brightest gymnastic hope, Moore is surprisingly relaxed about having to wait for his opportunity on his sport’s biggest stage.
“I’ve just got to have persistence and patience,” Moore said.
“It’ll be great to watch (The Olympics) and learn and see what’s out there.”
Moore will face the world’s best juniors this coming week in Hungary at the world championships where Szyjko expects his star pupil to finish inside the top ten on the back of a bold strategy on the pommel horse.
“Jesse’s got a really difficult pommel routine, and he’s got the potential to perform it well,” he said.
“If those two go together, then as a junior he’s world class in that respect.
“It’s a difficult routine, so it’s high risk and getting through it is always problematic.
“He’s getting better and better at it. But if he does that routine as well as he can there’s is no reason he can’t make the finals at world championships.”
Moore has been tracking towards elite artistic gymnastics from an early age.
“I was four or five maybe, pretty young, and I worked out I could do the splits,” he said.
“I don’t know where it came from. I started kindergym and I think there was a tryout for my school and I got picked for a program and I’ve been here ever since.”
SPORTING FAMILY
The Mortimer family might be SA’s most talented sporting clan. Local star Stephen Mortimer was named the MVP of last week’s Australian Lacrosse Association National Championships, as well as scoring a berth in the men’s All Star team.
Wife Karen was named in the women’s All Star team at the same event.
Meanwhile, Karen’s SA teammate Bonnie Wells didn’t take long to get the hang of it again, adding 11 goals for SA. Three weeks prior, former international Wells was part of Glenelg’s SANFLW run to the semi final.
JANE HANGS UP BOOTS
A South Australian sporting legend quietly said goodbye to top level sport this week, with former Australian netballer Jane Altschwager announcing her retirement from SANFLW.
Altschwager has played the last two seasons with North Adelaide and fronted for the Crows in their clash with Port Adelaide in the inaugural SANFL Women’s Showdown last weekend.
“It would have been a very tough choice to make growing up between footy and netball but I’m so happy to see it as an option for girls and women now,” she wrote on Facebook.
Altschwager played seven Tests for the Australian Diamonds and had one season with the Thunderbirds in 2009 among a 14-year career in top-flight netball.
UNSTOPPABLE CARTER
Matthew Carter’s hopes of heading to the Tokyo Olympics are, well, plummeting rapidly.
Carter, SASI’s number one diver, landed two gold medals at the Australian Diving Championships last week, earning him a berth on the 12-athlete Australian team to head to the world titles in South Korea next month.
Carter dominated the 3m springboard, winning both the individual event and the synchro with Chinese-born Australian Shixin Li.
“Matt (Carter) was sensational, his 504 points is really world class,” national coach Rick Schavone said.
CONTAX JOINS MND FIGHT
Traditional state league clubs Contax and Tango added a novel new look to their trademark uniforms on Friday night.
Contax and Tango took to Priceline Stadium in Freeze MND footy socks. And much to the bemusement of the players, club bosses encouraged the teams to wear the socks fully pulled up, to spread the message.
NOT A HAPPY CHAPPY
Despite a few setbacks on Thursday night, the Adelaide Crows injury list is remarkably short as the club heads to the bye. But on top of Josh Jenkins and Daniel Talia, another of the club’s key men suffered a fitness setback this week.
Chairman Rob Chapman enjoyed a sneak preview of family entertainment venue AFL Max which is due to open near Adelaide Airport in two weeks.
But we’re reliably told Chapman suffered a decent hamstring strain while road testing the trampolines.
PASS THE PASKIES
Never underestimate the ingenuity of country footy clubs. Last weekend, Cowell in the Eastern Eyre League was desperately short of players due to injuries and unavailabilities due to the drought.
In contrast, Paskeville on the Yorke Peninsula, has a surfeit of players.
The solution sounded simple, but an 800km round trip made the drive prohibitive.
Well, the two clubs managed a solution to transport three Paskeville players across the Spencer Gulf and onto the Eyre Peninsula, instead of around it.
Three Paskeville players got a game while Cowell avoided a forfeit.
TRY AND TRY AGAIN
It was perhaps inevitable with such a bold expansion plan, but Rugby Union SA’s decision to increase its Coopers Premier League competition from seven to 10 teams this year has seen a few frightfully one-sided affairs in the first seven weeks of the season.
League pacesetters Brighton racked up consecutive wins by over 100 points, including a 111-0 win over Adelaide Uni and a 134-0 win over Barossa Rams.
A fortnight ago Premier League newcomers Elizabeth copped a 154-0 hiding at the hands of Burnside at Parkinson Oval. The hosts ran in 23 tries for the match.
VALE JOHN CAUSBY
SA Cricket has said goodbye to one of its most celebrated players after the passing of John Causby on June 8.
In a career spanning 15 seasons between 1960 and 1974, Causby was selected for 63 First Class games for South Australia and was a key player in SA’s Sheffield Shield victories in 1968/69 and 1970/71. He was 76.
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