FIRST FEMALE peninja
By Andrea Louise Thomas
T
his year Australian Ninja Warrior Sarah Blackmore joined an elite group of Peninsula-based athletes, also known on the show as the ‘Peninjas’. She was the only woman in the group and one of only a few female athletes to move on to the semi-finals. Rightfully, she feels very proud of that. “I think it’s powerful for young girls to see women competing against men," Sarah says.
In order to be competitive, Sarah trained 12-16 hours a week in gymnastics, ninja training and bouldering in preparation for the course. She started training after last year’s grand final watching her best friend Charlie Robbins, partner Ashlin Herbert, and good friends Troy Cullen and Zak Stolz compete – all of them Peninjas. So how did the Peninsula produce this cluster of super athletes? They all come from the same gym: Peninsula Gymnastics in Rosebud. Sarah believes what makes this gym stand out is it’s focus on positive coaching. She would know; she coaches there. Positive coaching is extremely important to Sarah who began gymnastics at the age of eight. Despite her strength, natural athleticism, determination, and focus, when she was ten one coach told her that she was too tall and too old to go far in gymnastics. Moving to a different gym with a more positive mindset, she competed at state level for many years, becoming Victorian State Champion in 2009. Sarah’s mother was a competitive netball player. Naturally, she wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps, but Sarah was made for gymnastics. Her aunt noticed it on the playground when Sarah was just five years old. She was a natural climber with a knack for tumbling, so artistic gymnastics was a perfect fit.
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