South Australian Jesse Moore has defended his national All Around title, while hometown hero Ruby Pass narrowly trails 2024 Olympic teammate, Breanna Scott, for the women’s All Around crown after a stunning first day of action at the Australian Gymnastics Championships.
Jesse, who put his name up in lights in Paris last year when he finished 21st in the Men’s Artistic All-Around Final at the Olympics, showed his mettle on Thursday night as the Senior International competition began.
The twenty-two-year-old shone in front of family and friends on the Gold Coast, as his All Around score of 78.849 was enough to top fast-finishing Queenslander James Hardy (77.266) and Hinata Kabeya of New South Wales (76.066).
His only major blemish coming on High Bar, Jesse's Floor (14.150) and Vault (13.850) routines put him in the box seat to defend his All Around crown.
Buoyed by the chance to compete in front of a home crowd, Moore came into the competition with one eye on World Championship qualification, too.
“A large part of World Championship qualification is based on performance at this event,” he said before competition.
With the Commonwealth games on his radar as well, Thursday’s performance compliments his preparation, as he looks to dominate on the world stage.
“It is very much on the horizon, and we should have a strong Australian group ready to go and represent the country.”
In Women’s Artistic, Breanna Scott wowed the Gold Coast crowd by reproducing her four Paris Olympic routines, including a stunning 13.875 on Beam. Similarly impressive on Uneven Bars (13.375), Breanna currently sits in the lead with a combined score of 53.200, from Queensland’s Ruby Pass.
Ruby, who finished 13th in last year’s Olympic final, performed four clean routines with downgraded difficulty to finish with 51.575 highlighted by a 13.2 on uneven bars.
An impressive outing in her first competition since Paris, she is also looking to keep upgrading her routines ready to peak for the World Championships in October.
Victorian Kate McDonald achieved the highest score of the night – a 14.15, on her specialist event – the uneven bars, with a spectacular routine featuring some high-risk releases.
Women’s All Around continues on Saturday, while Apparatus Finals will also take place for both Men’s and Women’s Artistic.
A full breakdown of scores is available HERE.
Gymnastics Australia
