Nickname
Tys (gymnastics.org.au, 22 Dec 2016)
Hobbies
Exercising, going to the beach, skiing, spending time with friends. (Facebook profile, 17 Dec 2021)
Occupation
Athlete, Motivational Speaker
Education
Human Movement Studies - University of Illinois: Champaign, IL, USA
Spoken languages
English
Club
Knox Gymnastics Club: Melbourne, VIC, AUS
Coach
Dion Pocklington [national]
Sporting relatives
His older brother Jayden has represented Australia in artistic gymnastics and won gold in the floor exercise at the 2014 Australian Championships in Melbourne, VIC. (intlgymnast.com, 01 Feb 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 28 Apr 2020)
Injuries
He aggravated an ankle injury while competing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. Despite the injury, he went on to win silver on horizontal bar at the Games. (Gymnastics Victoria Facebook page, 03 Aug 2022; 7news.com.au, 03 Aug 2022)
He sustained a mild concussion and suffered a sprained ligament in his wrist prior to the 2018 Big Ten conference Men's Gymnastics Championships at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America. (wcia.com, 17 Apr 2018)
Start sporting career
He took up gymnastics at age five. "I got serious after my first nationals when I was 10. Coming back from that event, my club coach, Tim Robertson, persuaded me to try out for the high performance centre and train there."
Reason for taking up the sport
He used to follow his older brother Jayden to the gym, and initially started gymnastics in order to develop his skills for other sports. "I loved gymnastics from an early age. I was a quick learner and took to it quickly and just fell in love with it."
Milestones
He became the first male artistic gymnast representing Australia to compete in an individual Olympic final when he placed fifth on horizontal bar at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 24 Sep 2021; thewest.com.au, 03 Aug 2021)
Hero / Idol
Dutch artistic gymnast Epke Zonderland, US basketball player Michael Jordan. (fightingillini.com, 22 Jun 2017; gymnastics.org.au, 22 Dec 2016)
Most influential person in career
His parents. (gymnsw.org.au, 13 Aug 2021)
Philosophy / Motto
"Train like you're the worst, compete like you're the best." (Facebook profile, 17 Dec 2021)
Awards
He was named Men's Artistic Gymnastics High-Performance Gymnast of the Year for 2019 and 2022 at the Gymnastics Victoria Ball and Awards Night in Australia. (Gymnastics Victoria Facebook page, 21 Nov 2022; gymnastics.org.au, 18 Feb 2020)
He was named the 2021 Senior International Male Artistic Gymnast of the Year by Gymnastics Australia. (Gymnastics Victoria Facebook page, 22 May 2022)
Additional information
TIME ABROAD
He studied at the University of Illinois in the United States of America and competed for the university's gymnastics team from 2014/15 until his senior year in 2017/18. (fightingillini.com, 01 Jun 2018; gymnastics.org.au, 22 Dec 2016)
FURTHER EDUCATION
In 2023 he graduated with a master's degree in physiotherapy from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, VIC, Australia. "I have a better understanding of mechanisms of injury and rehabilitation, and so my coursework has certainly heightened the importance around proper rehab, prehab and load management amongst other things." (LinkedIn profile, 21 Aug 2023; swinburne.edu.au, 06 Sep 2022)
Last update : 2024-07-22
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