Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is always a great opportunity to stand in this place and recognise some of the wonderful achievements of the young athletes in our electorates. In this case I would like to recognise one of our outstanding young athletes, Heather Blakeway from Loganholme. Heather is one of Logan PCYC's rhythmic gymnasts. At only 14 she has already competed overseas. Last year she was crowned the country's best at the 2014 Australian Rhythmic Gymnastic Championships and went on to represent Australia in the New Zealand championships. Heather recently received a Local Sporting Champions grant. This will enable her to represent Australia in Japan and New Zealand again this year.

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Heather and her proud mother, Christine, and coach, Kerrie, to wish this rising star every success for the future. Heather took the opportunity to bring in some of her medals. It looks like her mum will have to get her a bigger trophy cabinet, as this young lady's passion for the sport continues to grow. Heather trains for up to 20 hours a week as well as studying and attending school. She has a real passion for gymnastics and says that the hard work put into training as well as the dedication to schoolwork is worth it. I wish her every success for the upcoming championships and for the future.

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