Hollie Dykes
Encyclopedia
Hollie Johnston Dykes is a retired Australian gymnast who was born in Gold Coast
, Queensland
and began gymnastics
at the age of four and a half. She started training at the Australian Institute of Sport
(Canberra
) in 1998 and was awarded a full scholarship there in 2000. Her favorite apparatus is the balance beam.
Hollie made her major international début at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
in Melbourne
, Australia
. She won gold in the women's floor exercise and as part of the women's team final. She earned a silver in the women's beam and a bronze in the women's all-around, beating Imogen Cairns
of England
.
Later that year, Dykes competed in the World Championships in Aarhus
, Denmark
. She helped the Australian team to a respectable seventh place finish, an improvement on the eight place in the 2004 Olympics. However, a fall from beam in qualification rounds left her unable to progress to the apparatus final, where she was a medal prospect. In the all-around, Dykes was one of only half a dozen gymnasts not to fall, but she still finished out of the medals, in seventh place. Dykes does show less difficulty than most of her rivals, but it seems ironic that she was able to take a medal when falling from every piece, but when she did achieve a consistent performance she was beaten by athletes with falls.
Hollie announced her retirement from gymnastics on January 11, 2008, citing personal reasons.
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and began gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
at the age of four and a half. She started training at the Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
(Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
) in 1998 and was awarded a full scholarship there in 2000. Her favorite apparatus is the balance beam.
Hollie made her major international début at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. She won gold in the women's floor exercise and as part of the women's team final. She earned a silver in the women's beam and a bronze in the women's all-around, beating Imogen Cairns
Imogen Cairns
Imogen Jane Cairns is an English gymnast. She has won the British Junior Championship twice, in 2003 & 2004. She is coached by Liz Kincaid at the Academy of Gymnastics in Portishead, Somerset. In 2005 at the DTB Cup She placed 4th on vault and 3rd for her floor exercise...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Later that year, Dykes competed in the World Championships in Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. She helped the Australian team to a respectable seventh place finish, an improvement on the eight place in the 2004 Olympics. However, a fall from beam in qualification rounds left her unable to progress to the apparatus final, where she was a medal prospect. In the all-around, Dykes was one of only half a dozen gymnasts not to fall, but she still finished out of the medals, in seventh place. Dykes does show less difficulty than most of her rivals, but it seems ironic that she was able to take a medal when falling from every piece, but when she did achieve a consistent performance she was beaten by athletes with falls.
Hollie announced her retirement from gymnastics on January 11, 2008, citing personal reasons.