Joshua Jefferis

Joshua Jefferis (born 29 August 1985) is an Australian artistic gymnast. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. He has won medals at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Joshua Jefferis
Jefferis at an Olympic team announcement
Personal information
Country represented	Australia
Born	(1985-08-29) 29 August 1985 Brisbane
Hometown	Canberra
Height	155 cm (5 ft 1 in)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior
Years on national team	Australia
Club	Australian Institute of Sport
Medal record Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne All-around 2006 Melbourne Rings 2010 Delhi Team 2010 Delhi Parallel bars 2006 Melbourne Team 2006 Melbourne Parallel bars 2010 Delhi All-around Pacific Rim Championships 2012 Everett Rings

Personal

Jefferis was born on 29 August 1985 [1] in Brisbane, Queensland.[1][2][3] He was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School.[4] Jefferis is 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) tall and weighs 55 kilograms (121 lb).[5] In November 2010, he completed a degree in Sports Science, and then enrolled in a program that will enable him to become a physiotherapist.[1]

Artistic gymnastics

Jefferis with AOC president John Coates and Australian gymnastic Olympic team members at an event at the Australian Institute of Sport

Jefferis is a parallel bars and rings specialist,[1][3] starting in the sport when he was only two years old.[1] He was first coached by Anthony Beake at Y-West.[1]

In 1992 as a seven-year-old with Y-West, Jefferis became part of the Queensland HPC development program and stayed with the program for three years.[1] From 1995 to 2005, he trained and was on scholarship with the Queensland Academy of Sport, before he earned a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport in 2005.[1] Since 2005, he has been coached by Vladimir Vatkin.[1] As of June 2012, he is still on scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport.[1]

Jefferis represented Australia at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games.[1][2] At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he earned a gold medal in the men's all around event, a gold medal in the rings, and a silver medal in the team competition.[1] At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he helped Australia win their first gold medal in the men's team event, and took an individual gold on the parallel bars and bronze in the all around event.[1] He competed in the World Championships in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011.[1] At the 2003 Championships, he was the youngest member of the Australian all around team.[1] His best performance at Worlds was twelfth place in the all around competition in 2006.[1]

In January 2012, Jefferis was passed over by Gymnastics Australia to participate at a London Olympic Games test event.[3] However, after Sam Offord injured his ankle,[3] he beat out training partner and national team teammate Thomas Pichler for a spot on the team.[2][6] Jefferis represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in men's artistic gymnastics.[2][7][8][9] He was officially selected on 1 June 2012, one of the first to be named to Australia's gymnastic squad, and was Australia's only male artistic gymnast at the Games.[2][3] Jefferis was twenty-six years old when he made his Olympic debut.[2][3] His family faced difficulty getting tickets to watch him compete, as Gymnastics Australia was only able to secure two tickets per gymnast at the Games.[10]

References

1. "Joshua Jefferis". Gymnastics.org.au. 29 August 1985. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
2. "Murray finds rhythm on dance floor — The West Australian". Au.news.yahoo.com. 2 June 2012. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
3. Ralph, Jon (2 June 2012). "Joshua Jefferis chosen as only Australian male gymnast for London Olympics". News.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
4. Mason, James (2011). Churchie: The Centenary Register. Brisbane, Australia: The Anglican Church Grammar School. ISBN 978-0-646-55807-3.
5. "London 2012 - Joshua Jefferis". London2012.olympics.com.au. 29 August 1985. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
6. AAP (1 June 2012). "Josh Jeffries beats out mate for gymnastics spot in London". News.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
7. "Mitchell heads gymnastics team — Other Sports — Sportal Australia". Sportal.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
8. "The Australian Girls Hope to Finish Sixth as They Did in Beijing". The Australian. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
9. "Olympic debutants jump for joy". Canberra Times. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
10. Ralph, Jon (15 June 2012). "Even athletes can't get Olympic tickets". adelaidenow. Retrieved 22 June 2012.

External links

• Joshua Jefferis at the International Gymnastics Federation