Gavin Baker represented Sports Acrobatics at this opening and Cork coaches Neil and Clare Sheehan had a trio perform at this opening. The trio of Michelle Sheehan, Ruth Kelly Walker and karen Hoey performed a perfect tempo routine and impressed the audience and Olga herself. Click here for pic of this trio. Our Acrobatics representatives were deligted to attend this event and hope that it will help Sports Acrobatics and Gymnastics in Ireland in the future. Click here for pics of the event.
The opening will also be attended by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Alderman Damien Wallace.
Korbut said, "I am happy to be opening the centre because the people involved believe
what I do, which is that gymnastics should be open to everyone."
The Ballycurreen venue will be the only centre completely devoted to gymnastics in the
country, with the exception of one in Ballina. The club already has over 130 members and
caters for gymnasts of all ages and abilities. They even claim to be able to cope with
members as young as six months of age.
Korbut, who won gold medals in the beam and floor exercises for the Soviet Union in the
1972 Olympics, is credited with making gymnastics one of the most popular sports in the
world. Her happy demeanour and extraordinary grace won a whole new audience. From Grodno,
Byelorussia she has lived in Atlanta since 1991 with her husband and son.
She was enthusiastic about Cork and commented, "I think they will do well here. I
came from a small city of two hundred thousand people and all the other champions came
from places like that. I think gymnasts from the small cities have the hunger and the
determination to become leaders in the sport.
"My mission now is to promote gymnastics for all ages. It’s not right that
people quit the sport when they are fifteen or sixteen. I myself would love to still be a
gymnast but there are no competitions for people like me. I also want to bring grace back
into the sport."
