Top 5 Series: Vault

Here begins a small collection of some of my personal favourite Aussie performances. Mind you, I started watching gymnastics 'offishullee!' around 1997 when I was only about 11, therefore forgive the lack of anything particularly archival or ground-breaking. I'm also at the whim of what YouTube has available.

We begin with the traditional 'first' apparatus in the competition order: Vault.

*oof!*

Not my favourite apparatus (not a lot of peoples', actually) but the likes of Cheng Fei and Alicia Sacramone are changing all that. It's becoming quite an exciting contest now. On the local side of things, I always loved Trudy's landmark 'McIntosh' vault, and can't wait to see a few more Yurchenko doubles feature in the elite squad this season.


5. Melissa Munro, 2004 Pacific Alliance Championships

View it here.

Not the most difficult vault (thanks Bart and Tim for letting us know that a piked Lucconi's worth 9.4 but no thanks for raining on any attempts by Mel to upgrade), but she performs - and lands - it very very nicely. She competed the same vault at the 2004 Olympics and managed a similar dainty landing.

4. Lisa Skinner, 1999 World Championship trials

View it here.

Aaaah, back in the days when Foxtel would broadcast national competitions and duels. And you could tape them while watching, instead of having to set the recorder for 3am. Like Brennan, what she lacked in power Lisa made up for in execution, notably with this Yurchenko 1.5!

3. Ashleigh Brennan, 2006 Commonwealth Games team trial.

View it here.

Not a powerful vaulter alongside the likes of Russo or Joura, but a very neat one for sure. A Yurchenko 1.5 done very neatly made her a suitable addition to the team.



2. Trudy McIntosh, 1999 International Team Championships.

View it here.

Just a twist away from her signature vault, the McIntosh, Trudy's laid-out handspring front vaults were powerful (though often difficult to maintain good form in) and laid the foundations for a vault that would propel her (literally) into medal contention on the world stage.


1. Daria Joura, 2007 World Championships preliminaries.

View it here.

Perfect antidote to a shaky competition. A Yurchenko double with great height and no big shuffles. A fantastic vault for Dasha and an asset to the team's total. Dammit, if we're not wearing green-and-gold in Beijing I will eat my hat!


Coming very soon in this series: Uneven Bars!