Brisbane gymnast Danielle Prince takes a global approach ahead of Rio Olympic Games

DANIELLE Prince’s journey to Rio started with a shift across town and has since taken her on a shoestring tour of the world.

DANIELLE Prince’s journey to Rio started with a shift across town and has since taken her on a shoestring tour of the world.

Only the blood and sweat she has poured into the routine she intends to perform in the rhythmic gymnastics at this year’s Olympics, was created in Australia.

There is no program for her sport at either the AIS or QIS so Danielle is very much on her own.

Well, except for parents Tess and Mark who have gone “above and beyond” in their support and the 40-odd kids she trains alongside every day at the Moreton Bay College.

“I train in a school hall at the same time as your little recreational 5-year-olds,’’ she said.

“There is no special treatment.

“I think it is really special for them as well, to see someone at my level training on a daily basis, it gives them an insight to what it takes.’’

Danielle’s Olympic campaign will feature a music score written for her by a composer in Italy, her routine was choreographed in Helsinki and leotards designed to complement them both made Italy.

It all costs money.

Danielle does her bit by working twenty hours a week at Camp Hill State school and a bit of coaching.

But her parents shoulder most of the burden.

Their sacrifice started when Danielle was just 11-years-old and they moved from Mt Crosby west of Brisbane to Manly out on the Bay area to be nearer to training.

“It has been a lifelong commitment, they have done so much to help me get to where I am today,’’ she said.

Elite rhythmic gymnast Danielle Prince.

Because of the costs, and the fact that at 24 she is already old by gymnastics standards, Rio is likely to be her last games.

She has been undergoing part-time university studies with a long-term goal to becoming a primary school physical education teacher.

But first, there’s her other goal.

She won a gold medal in the teams event at the Dehli Commonwealth Games but missed selection for the London Olympic team by 0.08 of a mark.

“It was heartbreaking, and after that there was never any question I wasn’t going to do everything I could to get to Rio,’’ she said.

Prince was Oceania’s highest ranked competitor at last year’s World Championships which guarantees her name will be called when the Australian team is announced later in the year.

Between now and the Olympics she will head to Italy for the first world cup met of the year and then join fellow Australian gymnasts in the US for the Pacific Rim tournament.

Then, if she can find the money a quick two week training camp in St Petersburg where she usually spends a month or two a year, before heading across to Berlin and then Russia for two more World Cup events.

“My sport is a European sport, if you don’t spend enough time over there training with the best and keeping across all the advances you’ll just get left behind,’’ she said.

The expertise comes from abroad but the hard work is done here.

There are two gymnastics session a day, totalling between five and six hours and another hour and a half of cardio and weights training.

The week is rounded out by a couple of pilates sessions for body maintenance and her regular ballet class for balance.

“By the time I hit the weekend I am pretty exhausted,’’ she said.

“I really do little more than maybe catch up with my friends for a quiet coffee, there’s nothing too crazy in my life at the moment.’’

Originally published as Brisbane gymnast Danielle Prince takes a global approach ahead of Rio Olympic Games