Madelaine Leydin is a gymnast who was awarded a Scholarship within the 2014 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program, she was paired with Susan O’Neill AM as her Mentor.
Madelaine was born in Melbourne in 1997 and became interested in gymnastics as a 6-year-old after attending a friend’s gymnastics birthday party. She first represented Australia in 2011 at the Commonwealth Youth Games where she finished 9th in the All-Around and won bronze in the Team final.
In 2012, Madelaine represented Australia at the Gymnix International in Canada and the Pacific Rim Championships in the USA. She then returned home to claim the national senior All-Around title in 2013 when she was 15 years old. She took bronze in Floor and Beam and was a member of the Victorian team which won gold in the Team event.
Madelaine was on course to challenge for medals at elite level, until a foot injury affected her ability to perform in the lead up to the national championships in 2014, and she finished second. A year later, she returned to the podium with a bronze medal at the national titles in the All-Around and was selected in the Australian team for the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
Consistent training at the Victorian Women’s High-Performance Centre throughout 2016 allowed her to return to form, and she relocated to the United States to study at the University of Arizona in 2017. Despite another injury in 2017, Madelaine performed so well at just three meets for the Wildcats, that she was named a Scholastic All-American.
Honours & Achievements
- 2012: Pacific Rim Championships, represented Australia.
- 2013: National senior All-Around title holder.
- 2014: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder.
- 2014: National Championships, silver.
- 2015: National Championships, bronze.
- 2015: World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, represented Australia.
- 2017: Scholastic All-American.
