Lowveld’s gymnastics star shines at artistic nationals

Young Mbombela gymnast Mariné Lombard recently excelled at the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) National Championships, finishing third overall and as the only gymnast with a medal in each of the four apparatuses.

The WAG National Championships were held at Gymnastics South Africa’s Matsport Centre in Pretoria from March 21 to 23, with gymnasts from all around the country flocking to Centurion for the national competition.

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Mariné, who is 16 and trains at the Nelspruit Gymnastics Academy, competed in the over 14 Olympic entry category, the first time she has competed in a national competition at this level.

Judging for artistic gymnastics competitions is based on the overall points each gymnast has achieved across the four artistic apparatuses – vault, bar, beam and floor. Mariné was the only participating gymnast who managed to finish inside the top three on each of these four apparatuses.

She placed second in vault and floor, managing to finish first on the beam, but a mishap on the bar – which is her favourite – meant she only finished third. This mishap is ultimately what cost Mariné in the long run as she lost a significant number of points, which compromised her overall score.

This meant she finished third overall, which is still a marked achievement, considering it is the first time she competed in a national competition in this category. “I’m very proud of myself and what I was able to achieve,” she said. “I definitely could have done better, for sure, but I am still so happy and proud.”

Mariné, who is homeschooled, has been doing gymnastics since she was four years old and started her gymnastics career under the guidance of Mbombela gymnastics coach Maré Putter. She and her family had, however, left Mbombela for a while, before returning to the Lowveld in 2023.

This saw Mariné’s return to the Nelspruit Gymnastics Academy, where she is again being coached by Putter and her husband, Jaco.

In 2023, Mariné competed in the WAG National Championships in the level 9 category, where she won two medals. But this year she made the step up to Olympic entry, which is meant to be a bridge to ultimately qualifying for the SA team and representing the country on the international stage.

While she works towards this goal, Mariné will still be competing internationally as an individual. “Mariné has made history in Mpumalanga by being the first gymnast to compete at the Olympic entry level of competition, which is part of the high performance stream in South Africa!” Maré said proudly.

“To end third overall and win medals on all apparatuses was the bonus for all her hard work and persevering through difficult times. She showed tremendous endurance. and Jaco and I are very proud of her. It is an outstanding performance and younger gymnasts can now be inspired to follow her lead!”