Tamworth gymnast Bonnie Bachali reaches new heights

The Tamworth Gymnastics Club member was aglow after winning four gold medals at the National Primary Games in Tamworth on Saturday.

Bachali was particularly chuffed at having successfully performed a skill she had long worked on and was trying in competition for the first time.

The 12-year-old said her execution of a back somersault flyaway on the uneven bars was done perfectly.

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"It makes me feel good," she said of executing the skill. "It makes me feel like I've achieved something, a goal."

It was one more realised goal that moved Bachali a step closer to her ultimate goal: representing Australia at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

She was able to better visualise that lofty ambition after Olympic gymnasts Dominic Clarke and Jessica Pickering addressed competitors at the Tamworth Gymnastics Centre on Saturday.

Listening to Clarke and Pickering talk about their experiences in the sport was "inspiring", she said, adding: "I want to keep going further - try and reach level 10 and reach my goal, which is going to the Olympics."

The level six competitor was seven years old when she had her first gymnastics experience, at Tamworth Public School.

Initially, she "didn't like" the sport but discovered she had a natural flair for it and enjoyed "showing off" in front of her classmates.

"But then I kept doing it at school and I really liked it, and Mum enrolled me [in the Tamworth Gymnastics Club]."

Bachali is enjoying her best year as a gymnast. This month she won all-round gold at the NSW Country Championships in Armidale.

"I felt pretty proud of myself coming first," she said, adding that she has elevated her gymnastics this year by "believing" in herself and "not giving up".

On Friday, the year 6 student will compete in the 3km at the state all-schools cross-country championships in Sydney. She qualified for the event after finishing second in the 3km at the regional cross-country championships this year.

This little dynamo clearly has a lot on her plate.

"I like my good sleeps," she said.

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