Five athletes from Echuca-Moama recently represented Victoria with pride at the 2026 Australian Gymnastics Championships.
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Aliera Pumpa, Addison Coburn, Leni Coburn, Mayli Coburn and Hannah Hughes, of Palmer’s Gym, played their part in what was the most successful Australian Gymnastics Championships campaign in the club’s history.
The gymnasium had 10 athletes represent Victoria in tumbling at the event in Sydney Olympic Park, with thousands of spectators in attendance.
A silver medal, bronze medal and a fifth place finish were recorded by the Echuca participants.
Performed on a 25m long sprung and padded track, tumbling sees the athletes complete two passes of eight skills, each scored on execution and difficulty.
Each athlete first participated in a qualification round in their category, which is assigned a level that sets a minimum degree of difficulty that their routines must meet, but they can’t go over the maximum.
Competitors’ scores were accumulative as they aimed to make the cut for the first final and then the second final.
Pumpa came away with the highest finish of the Echuca contingent, earning silver in the level 7 women’s division, the highest in the national pathway where athletes have very little margin for error.
Competing against 14 other athletes in the qualification round, Pumpa totalled 42.4 points across her two passes, the second-best combined score.
That qualified her for the first final of eight athletes, with the local recording the best score in this round, 22.6.
Pumpa was still 0.6 points behind NSW’s Alyssa McDonald in the overall tally heading into the second final, which saw the group of eight cut down to four.
Pumpa scored 20.9 points in the final phase, the lowest among the quartet.
But that score was still enough for her to conclude with the second-best total of 85.9, the Echuca athlete finishing 1.7 points off first-placed McDonald.
Another highlight from the Echuca group was the performance of Addison Coburn, who participated in the highly-competitive international under-13 category.
Unlike the other divisions, the under-13 category did not have accumulative scores, with all eight athletes participating in the qualification round and the first final.
Coburn produced the third-best score in qualification and then progressed to the final round by again placing third-best in the second phase, totalling 19.4 points.
She then produced an exceptional performance in the final round to take home the bronze medal, scoring 19.5 points.
By participating in this event, Coburn is now eligible to compete in the same category but internationally, should she wish to do so.
Elsewhere, Addison’s sister Leni Coburn made her Victorian debut in level 6 women’s tumbling, narrowly missing the podium after a confident and composed performance.
Leni totalled 40 points from her two passes in the qualification round to place seventh among the 25 athletes competing.
That score was enough to make the first final between eight athletes, where Leni moved up to fifth with a score of 20.8.
Her overall total of 60.8 was only 0.2 points shy of progression to the second final.
Echuca-Moama’s other two representatives, Mayli Coburn and Hannah Hughes, competed in the level 5 division.
Mayli finished 20th and Hughes placed 24th, impressive results given that 53 athletes participate in the division, making it one of the strongest of the entire championships.
Mayli also suffered a similar fate to sister Leni, missing out on the first final by 0.1 points as it cut off at 16 athletes.
Palmer’s Gym owner Emma Carmody said that falling short by a miniscule margin of 0.2 or 0.1 points was the equivalent of making the “tiniest” wrong step in a routine.
Though both girls would have undoubtedly wanted to feature in the next phase of their categories, they were a part of a historic milestone for tumbling in Echuca-Moama, as five participants is the most the region has had at the championships.
The achievement goes hand in hand with an increase in local interest in the sport.
“There are not enough hours in the day for us to facilitate the athletes that are wanting to join our program and that's not necessarily at this high level which the girls are at, but recreationally as well,” Carmody said.
“So, the demand is there and they are able to showcase what’s possible.”
One of Carmody’s coaches at Palmer’s Gym, Echuca’s Melissa Coburn, was also a Victorian team coach for the championships.
Melissa’s presence created an extraordinary aspect to the achievements of the gym’s Echuca venue, as she coached and supported her three daughters, Addison, Leni and Mayli, while they represented the state.
Carmody stated it was a wonderful reflection of the Coburn family’s dedication to the sport.