Queenslanders qualify for Olympic spot

January 12, 2012

Gymnastics Queensland is celebrating the news that both Joshua Jefferis and Thomas Pichler were successful in qualifying for Australia’s single male spot for the 2012 London Olympics.

The gymnasts competed at the London Prepares Series held in North Greenwich Arena this week for the last chance to secure a place for Australian men’s gymnastics in the Games starting in July. The two Queenslanders went up against 38 competitors from across the world and will now both prepare for the Games in the hope to be the one who is selected to represent Australia.

Pichler, 25, from Gold Coast Gymnastics in Miami and Jefferis, 25, from Y-West Gymnastics in Jamboree Heights both train at the Gymnastics Queensland High Performance Centre in Chandler under coach, Serguei Chinkar.

Kym Dowdell, Gymnastics Queensland’s Chief Executive Officer who is currently in London, is ecstatic that both gymnasts qualified but concedes there is a difficult road ahead as only one can be selected.

“We are delighted to have two Queenslanders qualifying for the Olympics which is a great testament to the calibre of gymnasts in our state,” said Ms Dowdell.

“We congratulate them and their coaching and support teams for this outstanding achievement and wish them all the best for the strenuous training regime ahead. With only one spot available there will be additional pressure to perform and demonstrate their ability to compete against the best in the world later this year.”

Jefferis, who went to London as a travelling reserve, took the place of Sam Offord from South Australia who was forced to withdraw after sustaining an ankle injury during training.

For a full list of qualifiers please click here.

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