Gymnasts fit for Games

Press, 26 June 1978, Page 3

Gymnasts fit for Games

The three members of the Commonwealth Games women’s gymnastics team resident in New Zealand all passed their final fitness trial for Edmonton at Cowles Stadium on Saturday.

The three, Debbie Hurst and Rowena Davis (both Otago) and Lynette Brake (Waikato), comfortably beat the 34-point standard for the four exercises set by the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games selectors.

However, the non-trav-elling reserve, Carol Armitage (Auckland), injured an ankle on the first exercise, the vault, and managed to complete only the bar and the beam. Her total of 24.25 points from three exercises was commendable in the circumstances. Mrs Hurst (formerly Miss Richards) had the best total of the trio with 35.45 points. She had the highest individ-

:jual score, of 9.25 on the uneven bars.

She showed that she is fully recovered from the injuries which hampered her earlier in the year and she fullv vindicated her selection for the team.

Davis scored 34.90 and Brake, who failed to reach 34 points in a competition last week, totalled 34.80. She performed with more confidence than she did the previous week.

There was considerable pressure on the three women. One slip could have cost any of them a place in the team but now they are assured of the trip to Edmonton.

The fourth and top-ranked member of the team, Kirsty Durward, is at university in California. She passed her fitness test in recent competition.

The men in the team will have their fitness trial in Hamilton next week-end.