The 2018 Pacific Rim Championships will take place this weekend, April 27-29 in Medellin, Colombia, and FloGymnastics will be providing the exclusive worldwide live stream for the men’s and women’s competitions. 

The competition will provide a chance for fans to see gymnasts who have competed little this year or not yet at all, including gymnasts from Team Australia. Team Australia is sending a veteral, Talia Folino, as well as new athletes to the international scene such as senior Kate McDonald and juniors Kate Sayer, Elena Chipizubov, Miriana Perkins, and Sidney Stephens. Check out our full break down of the team below.

The Veteran - Talia Folino

Folino is one of the team’s strongest gymnasts, both in terms of recent performance and experience competing internationally. As a member of the Senior National Team, she competed a few times for Australia in 2017, including at International Gymnix and as a member of the 2017 World Championship team. Folino has demonstrated a lot of success as an all-around competitor, finishing 1st in the all-around at the Gymnix Challenge and 4th at the 2017 Australian Championships. 

One of the best events to watch Folino on is beam. She is very confident on the event and competes strong combinations such as her back handspring, back handspring to layout to two feet. Her beam dismount has always been a challenge for her - she normally competes a double pike, but landed it short in training for Worlds and only competed a single back tuck during competition. We’re excited to see how she has progressed since then. Check out the video below of her routine from Worlds:

Video via FIG Channe

The Promising Juniors: Kate Sayer & Elena Chipizubov

Both Sayer and Chipizubov competed at the 2017 Australian Championships and demonstrated that they are ones to watch. Sayer finished 5th in the all-around in the Junior 14 division, and 2nd on bars and vault. In terms of events, it will be worth watching what she can do on vault, and she has a chance of making it into the vault event final. In the Junior 14 division of the Australian Championships last year, she competed the most difficult vault in the field with a 4.6 D-score. 

Chipizubov is also a strong all-around gymnast and took 3rd place in the Junior 14 division of the 2017 Australian Championships. Her best event by far is beam, where she placed 1st in the event final. She had the highest D-score in the final with a 5.2. Chipizubov has excellent form on beam and demonstrates great flexibility. She competes a tough triple series of a back handspring back handspring to layout to two feet. Check out a video of her routine from the 2017 Australian Championships:

Video via Gymternet China

The Newbies: Kate McDonald, Sidney Stephens, & Miriana Perkins

Senior McDonald and junior Stephens are both new to the international stage. The 2018 Pac Rims will be McDonald’s international debut, and it is the first time being selected to an Australian team for Stephens. We’re looking forward to seeing what both gymnasts can deliver. 

Related:

Morgan Hurd, Jordan Chiles Lead Team USA For 2018 Pacific Rim Championships

Brooklyn Moors, Zoe Allaire-Bourgie Headline Team Canada At 2018 Pac Rims