Only a half-year into her latest unretirement after a three-year training break, Australian gymnast Emma Nedov is set to make her improbable yet hard-earned Olympic debut in Paris this month.
The 28-year-old Nedov’s journey to her first Games – following an Achilles tendon injury that prompted her 2017 retirement, then a 2018 return, then another step away in 2020 – seem unlikely. She and her support team, however, never doubted her methodical determination as she jumped back into Olympic contention in perfect timing to earn a berth on the Australian team heading to Paris.
Nedov placed fourth all-around at the Australian Championships in mid-May, then won the all-around title at the Oceania Championships in Auckland in late May. She was subsequently named to her country’s Olympic squad, along with Kate McDonald, Ruby Pass, Breanna Scott and 2020 Olympian Emily Whitehead. Jesse Moore, the 2024 men’s Australian and Oceania all-around winner, was awarded the Australian men’s lone individual berth for Paris.
In this International Gymnast Online interview, Nedov shares the coordinated factors of her comeback for Paris, her multifaceted professional pursuits and her expectations for her Olympic debut.
IGO: With only six months of training, how did you manage to pull together not just an all-around program, but one that could be competitive at the Olympic level?
EN: To do all-around at a world standard again with six months of training took a whole team of great minds, and I think we exceeded expectations. It really was a matter of believing I could and making it happen by putting the structures in place to support my crazy idea.I have my mentor, Dean Kilby, and mental performance coach, Dave Diggle, to thank for helping me realize that it was possible.
The key factors in the beginning were to get physically fit for gymnastics and to maintain health and prevent injury. It’s worth recognizing that my mind still remembered everything. I don’t think it’ll matter how much time a gymnast takes away from the sport. We will always be able to do gymnastics in our heads.
I worked on my nutrition with the team I work for at Simplr Health (weight loss and lifestyle education program) to ensure I was metabolically fit to start training again. I started weights training with my strength coach, Alan Cormican, to gain strength and a bit of a power edge that I had recognized was missing in my past. I did mental training with my sports psychologist, Dave Diggle, to be ready for whatever was to come, and I made a bold request to a (gymnastics) coach called Mark Calton, who I felt was the right person to get me back, and asked him if he’d help me come back out of retirement. Then, I was fortunate to have worked as a receptionist at a chiropractic clinic called True Health Solutions and met some incredible minds in that space. So I took a proactive approach to managing previous injuries, such as my Achilles, and worked very closely with my physiotherapist, chiropractor, myotherapist and kinesiologist, as well as the use of my trusty PhysioKey device which I’ve used throughout my career to manage injuries.
I also was so lucky to have the backing of Lucy Noutsis, who owns Melbourne Gymnastics Centre, and she allowed me to train with (former Australian team member and 2024 New Zealand Olympian) Georgia-Rose Brown when we needed the gym. I trained smart, worked collaboratively with the team around me and most importantly I loved being back in the gym.Every single person around me believed I could come back, and so even when I had moments of doubt, that kept me going.
IGO: What about Australia’s qualification for Paris, at last year’s World Championships in Antwerp, inspired your return to gymnastics? How much of it was the team’s achievement and how much of it was your personal incentive to try gymnastics at the top level again?
EN: Australia’s qualification to Paris proved to all Australian gymnasts that we can do it and it gave me hope for a positive future in Australian gymnastics, which is something I’m really passionate about and would like to contribute to. The excitement of the qualification definitely gave me a nudge, but I would say the incentive was more on a personal level of wanting to see what was really possible if I did it my way.
IGO: How did your reassure yourself that this wasn’t just an unrealistic dream, considering you’d been away from the sport for over three years and were busy with your professional career?
EN: I didn’t need to reassure myself that it was unrealistic, because it was. I knew that no matter what the goal was and where I ended up that I would be learning some great life lessons, and it gave me and the people around me a purpose. Anything is possible and I like a challenge.
IGO: At what point of your comeback did you truly believe you could earn a spot on the team for Paris? Was it something obvious to the outside, such as your performances at the Australian and Oceania Championships? Or something internal?
EN: Personally, I was unsure about anything until I was told I was on the team. Nationals was when it really became possible that I could make it but I didn’t have any data for selection, so Oceania was a last-minute opportunity, and I felt that after showing consistency that it put me in a good place.
IGO: With (2020 Olympian and team standout) Georgia Godwin’s injury the dynamics of the team have changed, and your role on it will also have changed. How have you and the other gymnasts coped with the loss of such a motivational and experienced leader as Georgia, and how do you view your role in the team as a result of her absence?
EN: Elite sport is brutal. I can only imagine the emotions Georgia is dealing with after four years of hard work to qualify a team. She’s still around and we check in with each other often. She’ll be at our first camp before we head overseas so it’ll be nice to have her there supporting us. As for team roles, the five of us all get along really well and I have been able fit in with the girls nicely. I’ve known Ruby and Bre in particular for a long time because we all trained together before I finished. Emily, Kate and I have competed on a few international tours together in the past. I wouldn’t say I have a specific role other than collaborating with the girls, keeping things positive and fun, and bringing my experiences to the team.
IGO: What do you hope to contribute to the team in Paris, in terms of specific apparatuses?
EN: I hope to contribute beam, bars and vault. However, I may also do floor. Who knows?!
IGO: Individually you have a history of great performances on beam. Do you consider yourself a “Beam Queen” as you were often called earlier in your career?
EN: I’m not sure I’m quite at “Beam Queen” level as my focus has been on the all-around since starting training. However, it’s still my favorite and probably my best event, so I’d like to see what I can achieve on beam in particular.
IGO: How are you financing your training, and how are you arranging your training schedule to coordinate with your professional responsibilities?
EN: I’m incredibly fortunate to have my parents’ financial support. I asked them if they’d be up to supporting me when I started training again and I wouldn’t have been able to get this far if they hadn’t said yes. I managed to train and keep working in the first few months fine, but it quickly turned into having to arrange work around gymnastics rather than the other way around. My friend (2008 and 2012 Olympian), Georgia Bonora, owns a gym and sportswear brand called Bonora, and she sponsors me as much as she can also. I currently coach Simplr Health clients and my team is so great at managing the workload for me. I manage Artium Sport (bespoke sports gear and accessories company) with my partner Georgia-Rose (Brown) and am on the board for the YMCA Whittlesea. Gymnastics and gymnastics “stuff” integrates with my work/professional responsibilities, and I hope it always does in some way. More recently, I also did get some donations from companies called MRP Electrical and Active Tree Services. I would love to be able to open the doors to sponsorships in gymnastics.
IGO: With only two major competitions since you returned to training in November, how much better do you feel you can get by Paris?
EN: I have learned that a month can make a huge difference. I’d like to refine a few of my newer skills in this time, and I think I can definitely work on improving my confidence when performing.
Emma Essentials:
Date of birth: March 11, 1996
Place of birth: Wahroongah, New South Wales
Current residence: Melbourne
Club: Melbourne Gymnastics Centre
Coach: Mark Calton
Began gymnastics: age five at Epping YMCA, New South Wales
Best results: 11th place on balance beam in qualifications at 2014 World Championships, Nanning; silver on balance beam at 2019 World Cup of Melbourne; gold on balance beam at 2019 World Cup of Baku; gold in the all-around gold at 2024 Oceania Championships, Auckland
What she views as her most memorable sports achievements: Winning gold on balance beam at the 2019 World Cup of Baku; and finishing seventh in the team final and ranking as first reserve for the balance beam final at the 2014 World Championships, Nanning
Most influential person: “I’ve got a few. My parents because they have both helped shape the person I am today. My mentor Dean Kilby because he stood by me when I was at my lowest point and helped me see what I was capable of and always believed in me. And Dave Diggle (her mental performance coach), because he gave me tools and structures to be able to perform my best, both in and outside gymnastics.”
Hero/idol: “I don’t really have one but I’d say Catalina Ponor (three-time Romanian Olympian and Athens 2004 triple gold medalist) was an idol of mine because of her confidence and beauty on beam, as well as Lauren Mitchell (two-time Australian Olympian and 2010 world floor exercise champion), whom I looked up to at national camps for her discipline and work ethic.”
Major injuries: Tore her right Achilles tendon in 2017
Superstitions: “I like to have things placed straight around the apparatus, nothing messy or out of place. However, since starting training again I’m doing my best not to be too pedantic about it.”
Occupation: Sports nutritionist and health coach, co-founder of Artium Sport, board member of YMCA Whittlesea
Family: Mother, Jane. Father, Richard. Younger sister, Maddy, a former gymnast who trained with Emma until Maddy was 15.
Hobbies: Piano, singing
Motto: “Don’t settle.”
Ambition in and out of the gym: “To spark joy, inspiration and empowerment in those around me.”
International Gymnast Online’s other recent features on Australian gymnasts include:
- Australia’s Georgia Godwin: ‘I was more than happy to give Novak Djokovic a little taste of gymnastics’
- Australia’s Georgia Godwin: ‘With my age comes experience, maturity and confidence’
- Australia’s Georgia Godwin: ‘It’s an exciting milestone, but it didn’t play on my mind that much’
- Australia’s Mitchell Morgans: ‘I’m confident we can keep the success coming’
- Australia’s Ruby Pass on Paris 2024: ‘I focus on one step at a time’
- Australia’s Stephens: ‘An Adventure Without Risk Seems Dull and Pointless, So Here I Am’
- Australia’s Emma Nedov and Jesse Moore take Oceania Championships all-around titles
- Ruby Pass and Jesse Moore win Australian senior all-around titles
