Sunday, November 7, 2010

Breaking: Dasha Takes a Bow

As one West Australian star takes a step forward into the spotlight, another is taking her final curtain call.



Dasha Joura is retiring from gymnastics, according to PerthNow.

"In a lot of ways I have some unfinished business, or whatever you want to call it," Joura said. "Obviously my career didn't end on a note that I am happy with it ending on.

"But I also feel like I'm at the stage of my life where I need some stability in my future and I want to pursue some of my other passions.

"My parents would love to have me back in the gym, but I don't think it's necessarily the right place for me."


We love you, Dash.

Very best wishes in all your pursuits from here. You were a thoroughly entertaining performer and consistently positive team member. Thank you for your wonderful contributions to gymnastics and congratulations on an incredible competitive career. You and your smile will be missed.



A brief and faffy editorial, if you will indulge me-

Daria Joura.
Or, to the gymnastics world, just "Dasha". Toepoint to die for, killer acrobatic skills, a fearless competitive drive, enviable fluidity of movement, endless enthusiasm, unrivalled presentation on floor and a staredown that would intimidate captivate not just the judges but the first five rows of spectators sitting directly behind the judges. Not many gymnasts have their formidable reputation summed up by the mere utterance of their first name (and first name only). Gymnastics in Australia had a wonderful ambassador in Dasha.

I am throwing roses on the stage in farewell of one sassy, daring, unforgettable leading lady of Australian gymnastics.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Such a shame. But atleast she did compete at the Olympics and World Championships - she did achieve a lot!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on a great career, such a shame she didn't get a chance to reach her potential. But in saying that she did still achieve quite a lot.
I can't say I'm surprised that her ankle wouldn't allow her to train the way she wanted to, once ligaments are reconstructed they are never the same.

Anonymous said...

She did will a number of international medals as well, about 8 at world cup level, medals at other international events like Pac Rim and the Bejing test event. One top 5 and another top 10 AA finish at worlds. A world apparatus final. Three senior national AA titles and national senior titles on every appartus.

Anonymous said...

That is extremely sad news, but it sounds like the right decision for her.

You'll be missed, Dasha. Thanks for the joy you gave us.

Anonymous said...

I am happy for Dasha that she has finally been able to make the decision to move on from the sport. What a hard descision when it surounds you every day.If she puts the same dedication into something else she will very sucssesful I'm sure.Good luck Dasha!

nade00 said...

Last night I had a scary dream where Lauren got a promotional gig as the Paddle Pop lion and now this!

Very sad. I wish they hadn't had her compete that floor routine in Beijing, but I guess it's what she wanted. Good luck to her :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Dasha on all you have achieved in your career. I had the pleasure of being in the crowd at 2008 Nationals and watching your awesome floor routine in person and it blew me away. I'm sure you will have much success in whatever you decide to do in the future. All the best and thanks for the great memories.

Froggy said...

You left out the thing that really stood out for me - style. Gonna miss you Dasha

Ribbit
Ade

Anonymous said...

I also think about how things could have different if she hadn't competed floor in Beijing. The injury may not have gotten so bad and it may have healed without the need for surgery. But at least she got to compete at an Olympics. She achieved a lot but it is sad that her career had to end because of injury, the same injury that ruined her Olympics.

Anonymous said...

I think at the end of the day Dasha has to try (not easy, I know!) to be satisfied with the feeling of giving it all....I mean look at that floor routine - there was basically nowhere she could have improved on that (realistically). Her routines were simply great. She misses out on some of the external rewards....but at the end of the day there are factors with achieving external rewards you simply can't control and injuries like hers is one of them. But she can have peace with the feeling that she gave it everything she had.

nade00 said...

Some lovely pics from day 2 Combs - If you click on them they are in huge size.

http://jalbum.net/browse/user/album/805412/;jsessionid=1tlv9t6v68kwn4tcvfcbxfmy
Lina on TAAF found them.

Anonymous said...

Nat Clubs work orders are up. No names but numbers.
Anyone want to play the guessing game?

Junior/Senior:
MBC (4); QAS (4); Waverley (5); Gymjets (3) MLC (5); WAIS (3); Epping (1) VHPC (5); AIS (2); Carmel (1); Grips (1)

QAS - Larissa, ?,?,?
MBC - ?,?,?,?
MLC - Milly, Georgia, Stella,?,?
Waverley - Georgia, Emma, Angela, Emma, Ashleigh
WAIS - Lauren, Emily, Nikki? or Georgia?
Grips - Amy?
Carmel - ?
AIS - MAM, ?
Epping - Emma
HPC - Georgia-Rose, Laura, Tierra, Ashleigh, Svetlana? or Zoe?

Any suggestions?

Anonymous said...

Larrissa is MBC not QAS. I would imagine QAS is Sophie Budack and Kate Wurth, not sure who else, maybe Natalia. I doubt Lauren is going so WAIS would have to be Emily, Nikki and Georgia because I don' think that they have any other juniors/seniors.
I read on WWGym that Angela isn't going either.

Anonymous said...

wow, sounds like some shit has gone down at Bunnerong

http://southern-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/petition-for-club-review/

Anonymous said...

Results from Combs up on FFG site.

Nat, GRB and Nikki all have 5.0 on vault and 5.5 on bars which is good. Not much good on BB and FX though.

Anonymous said...

How is the WAN.... in the second comment (Bunnerrong article) re stage parents. Clearly has no idea what is required of elite gymnasts. If this is true, 2 weeks notice and no personal interview is a disgrace. They are better off out of there!

Anonymous said...

Wow, suggesting these kids just "go to Epping or fairfield' is so unrealistic.
Epping if more than 30kms and across the city and Fairfield is more than 40Km.

With Sydney traffic and the number of training hours required, we will loose these kids.

Anonymous said...

I am going with:
MBC: Larrissa Miller, Shar Lee Clark, Amaya King Koi and either Georgia Godwin or Brittnay Boffo.
QAS: Katie Wurth, Natalia Joura, Sophie Budack and Karina Brooks. Waverley: Emma Collister
Emma Dennis, Ashleigh Kittle and I'm tipping they originally entered both Georgia and Angela but would need to wait and see if Georgia is going - Angela is not and i think the status on Emma is sketchy too.
GymJets: Natasha Hammann, Crystal Yeo and not sure who the third would be.
MLC: Georgia Wheeler, Amelia McGrath, Clare O’Donnell, Isobel Looker and either Kristina Ostojic or Stella Savvidou.
WAIS: Ashley Cooney, Nikki Chung &
Georgia Simpson.
Epping: Emma Nedov
HPC: from their website: Zoe Lorenzin, Tierra Exum, Alex Eade
Laura Hingston - not sure who the 5th would be - maybe one of the IDP10's like Ebonie or Grace Claringbold.
AIS: Naomi Lee - would Mary Anne Monckton be fit by then???
Carmel: Jasmine Ford
Grips: Amie Martin

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dasha.It has been a real joy watching you and your graceful gymnastics over the years. Best of luck with your future.

mistysakura said...

Aww, I was really holding out hope for a comeback, and for her career to end on a brilliant note. At the same time, it's strange to watch Dasha's younger self in that perfect routine from 2008, knowing that by now, she's more than halfway through university. Perhaps the notion of Dasha returning to where she left off was, to begin with, just a fan's wishful thinking. As a young person myself, I feel I've progressed far since I was eighteen. Even had Dasha made a comeback, she would have been a different gymnast. Not to say that's a bad thing -- I daresay her style would have developed even further with maturity -- but I think what I was wishing for all this time was for the past two years to be erased and have Dasha back as her former self, which was never possible. Thanks for the style, Dasha. You showed the world the true passion in gymnastics.

Anonymous said...

Just looking at the Combs results on FFG sites. Natalia scored a 8.7 Execution for her vault so she can't have fallen on it. By the looks of it she fell twice on bars, twice on beam and once on floor. Georgia Rose and Nikki both did well on bars. Georgia Rose seems solid on most apparatus but Nikki looks to struggle a bit on beam and floor.

Anonymous said...

Brittany Boffo is at QAS now not MBC.

Anonymous said...

Some videos have gone up on YouTube from Combs la Ville

Georgia's bars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gDXucMFAQ8