Lisa Maree Skinner (born 17 February 1981

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and lived in Clear Mountain,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) is an Australian

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

who competed at the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. She was the first Australian gymnast to qualify for an individual event final at the Olympics. She has toured with

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

performing aerial hoops.

Gymnastic career

Skinner began gymnastics in 1987 at Lawnton Academy. Between 1995 and 2004, she was a consistent presence on the Australian team, competing at four World Championships, three Olympic Games and many other international meets. She was the Australian national champion in 1996 and 1997. Skinner made her senior international debut at the 1995 World Championships in

Sabae is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 69,338 in 24,167 households and the population density of 820 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Sabae is located in central Fuku ...

, placing 12th with the Australian team. The next year, at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, she helped Australia place 10th in the team finals and finished 36th in the individual all-around. In the following years, Skinner's international performance improved dramatically. She earned two gold medals at the 1998

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

: one with the Australian team, the other as an individual on the

uneven bars The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...

. At the 1999 World Championships, she placed 15th in the all-around. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Skinner was the highest-ranked Australian female gymnast. At one point in the all-around competition, she was in third place. However, her

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

had a low start value, and she therefore did not score high enough to win a medal. She eventually finished in 8th place, the highest placement ever for an Australian gymnast. In the

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...

final, she had another chance to earn a medal, but ended up in 8th place after a fall. Her appearance was still notable, because it was the first time that an Australian gymnast had qualified to an Olympic event final. The score she received for the same routine in the all-around, a 9.75, would have been enough for a bronze medal in the final. After the 2000 Olympics, Skinner retired, but in 2002 she decided to resume training. She returned to competition in 2003, representing Australia at the

2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 37th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Anaheim, California, United States, from 16 to 24 August 2003. Tie-breakers were not used at this competition. If two gymnasts received identical scores in the event finals, they were ...

, the 2004 Pacific Alliance Championships, and the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. At her third Olympics, Skinner was an uneven bars and

balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...

specialist. As a gymnast, Skinner was known for her expressive, balletic presentation and clean lines. She was a floor exercise specialist for many years, displaying routines with unique choreography and music. She also designed several

leotard A leotard () is a unisex skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso from the crotch to the shoulder. The garment was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870). There are sleeveless, short-sleeved, and lo ...

s worn by the Australian national team at major competitions. Following the 2004 Olympics, Skinner retired again.

Cirque du Soleil

Skinner later began working with

with their production Alegría as a power-track artist and dance captain for the show in April 2006. After that, she joined another Cirque show,

Quidam ''Quidam'' ( ) was the ninth stage show produced by Cirque du Soleil. It premiered in April 1996 and has been watched by millions of spectators around the world. ''Quidam'' originated as a big-top show in Montreal and was converted into an arena ...

in 2010 as the backup for the character 'Target' as well as performing aerial hoop trio until the show closed in February 2016. Most recently, following the closure of Quidam, Skinner has begun performing solo Aerial Hoop with their touring show

Koozå ''Koozå'' is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil which premiered in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, in 2007. The show was written and directed by David Shiner, who had previously worked as a clown in Cirque du Soleil's production of ''Nou ...

, joining its tour in her home state, Queensland, from 24 November 2016. However just 3 days later she suffered a neck fracture and broken arm during a Koozå performance in Brisbane.

References

External links

*
Gymnastics Australia profile

Athens Olympics profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Lisa 1981 births Living people Australian female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts of Australia Gymnasts at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in gymnastics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia 20th-century Australian women 21st-century Australian women

Gymnastic career

Cirque du Soleil

See also

References

External links