Supporting Australian rules football team Adelaide. (gymnastics.org.au, 08 Aug 2021)

Athlete

Psychology - University of Adelaide: Australia

English

Premier Gymnastics Academy: Brisbane, QLD, AUS

Gina Peluso [club]

She required crutches for seven months after she competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo with a foot injury. (Instagram profile, 25 Mar 2022)

She was sidelined in 2016 and 2017 as she had hip and thigh pain. She had surgery on an injured ligament but the pain continued, and following further tests she was diagnosed with a rare bone tumour. She had surgery again and returned to competition in late 2017. (olympics.com.au, 07 Aug 2021)

She got involved in rhythmic gymnastics at age 10. "I have drawings framed from when I was 10 which say, 'I want to represent Australia in the Olympics doing rhythmic gymnastics'."

She thought she was going to be taught artistic gymnastics at her first training session, before being given equipment for rhythmic gymnastics. "I walked in thinking I was going to learn how to do flips but was intrigued when I was given a hoop by the coach. Despite clearly not knowing what rhythmic was, I was hooked from that very moment and have loved it ever since."

She and her teammates Alannah Mathews, Himeka Onoda, Felicity White, and Alexandra Aristoteli became the first rhythmic gymnasts to represent Australia in the group event at the Olympic Games when they competed at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 20 Jul 2022; thegymspot.com.au, 06 Aug 2021)

Australian track cyclist Anna Meares, Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast Alina Maksymenko. (gymnastics.org.au, 08 Aug 2021; gymqld.org.au, 01 Jan 2021)

Her parents. (gymnastics.org.au, 08 Aug 2021; portlincolntimes.com.au, 15 Jul 2021)

"There is nothing better than getting into your finishing pose and knowing that you gave it your all, all your hard work is paying off and that you have left an impression on the judges and audience. I think the most special thing about performing is making others feel something." (olympics.com.au, 07 Aug 2021)

She and her teammates Alannah Mathews, Himeka Onoda, Felicity White, and Alexandra Aristoteli won the Senior Athlete Recognition Award of Excellence in the rhythmic gymnastics team category at the 2021 Gymnastics Queensland Annual Awards in Australia. (gymqld.org.au, 31 Mar 2022)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has visited schools as part of the Mental Fitness Program run by the Australian Institute of Sport [AIS] and the Black Dog Institute, a non-profit facility that treats and researches mental health conditions. "Mental wellness is something that I'm really passionate about after losing someone special to me from mental health when I was in year 10. At that time, I was uneducated and didn't understand mental wellness and the potentially devastating outcomes, so I am super grateful to be a part of this special programme as I get to engage with school students and sporting clubs in mental fitness and resilience-building strategies." (Instagram profile, 09 Jul 2022, 04 Nov 2021)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She has also studied business at TAFE Queensland in Australia. (Facebook profile, 25 Mar 2020; unisport.com.au, 03 Jul 2019; Instagram profile, 05 May 2018)