3 minute read
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lauren Mitchell was a standout on the opening day of the Australian gymnastics championships.
Lauren Mitchell has confirmed her status as the clear frontrunner in the race for Olympic spots with standout performances on the opening day of the Australian gymnastics championships on Wednesday.
Mitchell was part of the winning Australian team to claim gold ahead of a strong Japanese squad and two other Australian groups in the international team competition at Sydney Olympic Park.
The national titles also double as Olympic trials but, unlike the men, who will secure their Games berths at this week's event, the women's team will not be decided until after a two-week camp in Canberra next month.
And with only five competitors making the cut, every performance will be assessed ahead of selection.
Mitchell, who became Australia's first female world champion in 2010 with her winning floor performance, again proved her strength on the apparatus to top-score with a 14.950.
The 20-year-old West Australian, who won four Commonwealth Games gold medals in Delhi, also blitzed the competition in her other pet event scoring an impressive 15.700 on the beam, leading her team to victory as the only gymnast to top-score on more than one apparatus.
"I've been working on a couple of things in training and I think on the beam that showed," Mitchell, who has chosen to ditch the uneven bars and concentrate on the floor and beam in the lead-up to London, told AAP on Wednesday.
"We made the decision to stop working on bars and focus on the other events and I think that's really worked out in my favour but there's definitely room for improvement."
National coach Peggy Liddick was happy with how her team shaped up against the strong Japanese outfit and admitted certain gymnasts were already leading the pack ahead of Olympic selection.
"The difficult part now will be to select five out of the 19 who competed tonight," Liddick said.
"There are a couple who are impressive enough they're selecting themselves so I'll build the team around those who are clearly shining.
"Nobody's on the team yet but, yes, Lauren had a good night tonight."
The men will take the stage in their team competition on Thursday with the women back in action on Friday.
