An artistic gymnast from Christchurch has earned a nomination for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Isabella Brett from the Christchurch School of Gymnastics was the highest ranked New Zealand Women’s Artistic Gymnast at the Oceania Championships held in Auckland over the weekend, which earned her the FIG Continental Quota spot nomination.

Twenty-three-year-old Brett came away with the bronze medal in the all-around and was also third on balance beam and floor exercise.

Following confirmation that Brett earned the Continental spot, her nomination to the Games is now subject to selection by Gymnastics New Zealand and confirmation by the New Zealand Olympic Committee, who have additional criteria in place. 

A spokesperson for Christchurch School of Gymnastics said they are “incredibly proud of Isabella’s performances at the Oceania Champs as well as her recent performances at the World Cup in Doha – where she had top-12 and top-14 finishes on balance beam and floor exercise, respectively, from amongst a strong field of competitors”.

“We wait expectantly to hear a positive outcome for this young woman, a role model for younger athletes in the sport. Isabella has been training at CSG since 2017. Her primary coach is Rian Reza,” the spokesperson said.

They said that Brett excels in particular on the balance beam – a challenging apparatus that is just 10cm wide and raised 125cm off the ground – on which gymnasts perform both daring acrobatic skills and elegant dance. She has won 40 New Zealand all-around and apparatus championship titles in the last 13 years and has multiple top-8 (finals) placings in international competitions.

Brett is New Zealand’s current reigning senior international champion on the balance beam, floor exercise and uneven bars and has recently represented New Zealand at World Challenge Cups in Hungary and France and World Cups in Egypt, Germany and Qatar, building on her experience to reach a pinnacle event such as the Olympics. 

The last Olympic Women’s Artistic Gymnast competitor to represent New Zealand was also from Christchurch – Courtney McGregor in 2016.