Out of the Shadows

BRISBANE gymnast Thomas Pichler was selected in his first Commonwealth Games team this month, 18 months after severely injuring his knee on the ski slopes of Austria.

At the national championships in Canberra, Pichler, from Thornlands, came second overall to secure his spot on the team for Dehli after a complete knee reconstruction.

“i hurt my knee skiing in Austria, which is quite embarrassing, and had a knee reconstruction in January last year,” Pichler, 23, said.

“It took a year to get back to where I was before ... it took the first three months to walk again, the next three months to build up strength, the next three to build my confidence and get my dynamic skills back, and the final three months to convert those skills in gymnastics again.”

The talented Queenslander, who was born with a hole in his heart, represents Gold Coast Gymnastics Club and trains and Queensland Academy of Sport high-performance centre at Chandler under QAS head coach Serguei Chinkar.

“I train six days a week, twice a day ... about 28 to 30 hours a week,” he said.

“My heart never really gave me too much trouble, but I had a special machine at home when I was little.”

“I had a hole between the two chambers of the heart, but it grew together over time.”

Pichler said that hardest competition for him at the Games would be from Canada and England.

“My biggest chance for a medal is in the floor exercise.” He said. “But to win an all around medal is my goal ... it’s the most prestigious individual medal.”

Jorja Orreal, Courier Mail, 04/08/2010