Ashleigh Jade Brennan (born 18 January 1991) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

former

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

who was on the Australia Gymnastics Artistic Women's National Team. She participated in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, finishing sixth in the team event. She won a pair of team gold medals in the Commonwealth Games at the 2006 and 2010 Games. She won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and a bronze in 2010. She was selected to represent Australia at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She is also the sister of star Berwick footballer, Tom Brennan.

Personal

Brennan was born on 18 January 1991 in Melbourne, Victoria, and considers Berwick, Victoria, her hometown. She was nominated for a

Victorian Institute of Sport The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international succe ...

(VIS) Spirit Award.

Gymnastics career

Brennan is an all-around specialist who got started when she was seven. Before practice and competitions, she drinks coffee. Brennan made her senior Australian National Championship debut in 2007, having missed 2004, 2005 and 2006 because of injury. At the 2007 national championships, she finished third in the floor, fourth in the balance beam, eighth in the all around, 12th in the uneven bars, and sixteenth in the vault. In 2008, she finished second on the floor, third in the balance beam, uneven bars, and all around event. She did not compete in 2009. In 2011, she finished second in the floor and balance beam, and fifth in the vault and all around. In 2012, she finished first in the all around, third in the balance beam and floor, sixth in the uneven bars and eighth in the vault. 2008 Australian Olympic team 038 - Sarah Ewart

2008 Australian Olympic team 038 - Sarah Ewart

Brennan has represented Australia in several competitions, including the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

and

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

, the 2007, 2010 and 2011 World Championships, and the

and the

. At the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, she earned a gold in the team event. She earned a silver in the floor in 2006 and a bronze in the floor in 2010. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she finished sixth in the team event. She has placed in several other competitions. At the 2011 Doha World Cup, she finished second in the balance beam and floor. At the 2012 Gymnix International, she finished second in the floor, third in the all around and balance beam, eighth in the vault and tied for seventeenth in the uneven bars. At the 2012 Doha World Cup, she finished second in the balance beam and fifth on the floor. As a member of the 2012 Australian senior squad, Brennan was coached by

Peggy Liddick Peggy Liddick (born 17 June 1957 in Omaha, Nebraska, United States) is an American-born Australian women's gymnastics coach. She was one of the personal coaches for USA champion, Shannon Miller, who won seven Olympic medals (two Gold, two Silve ...

. At the 2012 Australian Gymnastics Championships in Sydney, she won the all around event. She earned a bronze medal in the floor and balance beam events. The event was part of the Australian national team Olympic qualifying process.

2012 Summer Olympics

Brennan was part of the 2012 Olympic Qualifying team that finished sixth. In June 2012, she was one of twelve Australian gymnasts vying to earn a final spot on the Olympic squad at a training session for the national team at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

. At the same time, she was one of three Australian female gymnasts who were confirmed to be going to the Games alongside

Lauren Mitchell Lauren Stephanie Mitchell (born 23 July 1991) is an Australian former artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2010 World champion on the Floor (gymnastics), floor exercise and the 2009 W ...

and

Emily Little Emily Little (born 29 March 1994) is an Australian artistic gymnast. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the team women's artistic gymnastic events. She was chosen to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Person ...

. She represented Australia at the

in women's artistic gymnastics, and was selected to compete in the women's team event. Her Olympic training preparations included learning how to deal with flash photography with strobe lighting used at practice and being exposed to distracting noises. Brennan qualified in 28th place for the individual all-around final with a score of 54.232 on 29 July, contributing to the Australian team's tenth-place finish during

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

. In the all-around final on 2 August, she placed 20th with a score of 55.332. Brennan retired from gymnastics in November 2012 to pursue a career in

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Ashleigh 1991 births Living people Australian female artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts of Australia Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Gymnasts at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Australian Institute of Sport gymnasts Victorian Institute of Sport alumni Articles containing video clips Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in gymnastics Sportspeople from Melbourne People from Berwick, Victoria Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia)