Gymnastics: Two prove Olympic fitness

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

Olympic gymnast David Phillips waved to the screaming fans yesterday as another nine rolled up on the scoreboard.

But this wasn't Sydney - it was Takinini. Phillips was clinching another New Zealand gymnastics championship title yesterday, scoring better than he ever had before.

It is still another two weeks before he performs at the Olympics, where he knows the cheers probably will not be for him.

Phillips, who has battled with two stress fractures in his spine, finally got the thumbs up yesterday to go to Sydney. The nationals served as a fitness and performance test for the Games.

The same applied to New Zealand's sole female Olympic gymnast, Laura Robertson, who also passed the tests and retained her national title, shaking off a threatening knee injury.

Phillips achieved his best total score yesterday, and also scored personal bests on the vault, 9.2, and the high bar, 9.1. He did it all in front of his own band of fans, kids from three Auckland schools that Phillips had visited.

"It was really cool that they came to watch me," he said. "I nailed all my routines just at the right time. It's not very often that it happens."

Phillips was relieved that his back held out through two demanding days of competition.

He has changed his training routine in the last couple of months to work around the injuries, and it appears to have worked for the better in his performances as well.

"I'm not spending so many hours of just hard-core gymnastics, because my back couldn't cope," he said. "So I've been riding an exercycle and doing more mental preparation, just breaking up the monotony."

Robertson came from behind yesterday to win the New Zealand title from overnight leader Alethea Boon. Boon struggled on the beam and floor, while Robertson had a consistent day across the apparatus.

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