University of Canberra Elite Athlete Jesse Moore (second from right) is competing in his first Commonwealth Games. Photo: Jesse Moore.
Two apparatus. That’s all that’s remaining for 19-year-old Jesse Moore at his debut Commonwealth Games.
The University of Canberra Elite Athlete is preparing for the pommel horse final on Monday night and the high bar final on Tuesday night after pulling out of the All-Round final due to an ongoing shoulder injury.
It may be his first Games, but the expectations he’s set for himself are high, and deservedly so. Earlier this year, he won the men’s All-Around title at the Australian Gymnastics Championships and fourth in the All-Around competition at the Continental Championships in 2021.
“I’m aiming for finals in the pommel horse and potentially medal in that,” he says.
Jesse is one of four debutants and the youngest member of the artistic gymnastics team.
“There’s a team of five over here and three reserves for artistic gymnastics,” he says.
“There are a few experienced guys there who haven’t been able to go to the Commonwealth Games as of yet due to injuries, so it’s pretty cool to all experience it together.”
He may be young on paper, but Jesse has been on the elite pathway for over a decade, first giving gymnastics a go when he was five.
“I started around 13 years ago. Apparently, I could just do the splits and I had a lot of energy so my parents chucked me into it,” he says.
From there, it was full steam ahead. He joined the high-performance program in South Australia after being identified through a talent identification process at school.
Jesse moved to Canberra late last year after earning a position at the National Training Centre within the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). He took up an undergraduate degree in exercise science and rehab through the University of Canberra Elite Athlete Program.
“UC has a great sports program, so it has been really handy,” he says.
“All the lecturers and tutors are so understanding and lenient towards my training and comps.”
To help him further balance his sporting commitments with his study, Jesse was also one of 12 UC recipients of the 2022 Eldon and Anne Foote Scholarship, worth $10,000 each.
“Receiving the Eldon and Anne Foote Scholarship has been really helpful,” he says.
“For interstate competitions, we have to fund ourselves most of the time. We had nationals earlier in the year, so it really helped for that.”
The Australian gymnastics team spent two weeks in the UK for a training camp before the Games began.
Jesse says the average day would be training in the morning from 8 am to 10 am, and then in the afternoon from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
“We repeat that four times a week and then on Wednesdays and Saturdays we usually cut it down to one training session, for about two to three hours. Sunday is generally a rest day.
“It’s been a lot of training and hard work, but it will all be worth it.”
Loading ...
