Page 23 - Cornwall 4 2021

Please give us some information about
GETTING
INTO THE
RHYTHM
WITH
SHANNON
GARDINER
“Champions are not made in
the gym, they are made from
something they have deep inside
them – a desire, a dream and vision”
This describes Shannon from a very
young age. Her love and passion for
gymnastics, her perseverance and
determination, but most of all her
will, is what make her the amazing
athlete and person she is today. She
is a star and a true champion.
– Nina Ervedosa, Coach
yourself and your family and how long you
have been living on the estate?
My name is Shannon Leigh Gardiner, a
21-year-old South African, and a proud born
thankful to have grown up in such a friendly
and bred Cornwall Hill Estate resident. I am so
community. As well as being the middle of
three daughters to my parents, I am also a
6th year senior Olympic rhythmic gymnast
and a BComm law student at the University of
Pretoria.
You recently took top honours in rhythmic
gymnastics at the Perfect 10 showcase
event. Could you tell us a little bit about the
competition and the team Cheetah’s you
belong to?
The Perfect 10 competition is an annual SA
gymnastics competition where only a selected
few, from all gymnastics disciplines, get
chosen to compete and be judged in just one
routine to try and attain the perfect score of
ten. This year I was delegated to the Cheetah
team but unfortunately due to the Covid
19 pandemic, we could not compete as we
usually do in groups together, but rather each
individual’s routine was filmed for the judges.
When did your passion for rhythmic
gymnastics start?
When I was about four years old, I saw a
broadcast of the 2004 Olympic Games
Rhythmic Gymnastics and was mesmerised.
My mom says that I did not stop nagging her
and telling her, “Mommy, I can do that, I can
do that!” Initially she thought that it was an
interest that would pass but it persisted, as did
my nagging. I wanted to be on TV! So my mom
started looking for a club that offered the
sport. We did not find rhythmic gymnastics
but found artistic gymnastics at the Centurion
Gymnasium and thus it was that I started.
A year later, we saw a Bulgarian coach, Nina
Ervedosa, teaching three gymnasts at the
same Centurion Gymnasium with ribbon
apparatus. I started rhythmic gymnastics at
the age of five with the blessing of, and while
still continuing with, my artistic gymnastics
coach, and it has been my life and passion
ever since. Once I had made the decision
to pursue a professional future in rhythmic
gymnastics, I started training at TUKS High
Performance and it has been the best decision
for my sport.
To date I have competed at the 2014 Youth
Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, numerous
annual World Cups all over the world, the
2018 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria,
the 2019 World Championships in Baku,
Azerbaijan and recently qualified for the
2021 World Championships in Japan. I have
represented South Africa as an athlete in 17
countries.
You are also studying full-time as well.
What are you studying?
I recently graduated with a BComm in Law,
majoring in taxation and accounting at the
University of Pretoria and I am currently
Cornwall View • Issue 4 2021 21