Paige James is an artistic gymnast who was awarded a Scholarship within the 2015 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program, she was paired with Catherine Freeman OAM as her Mentor.
Paige was born in Perth in 2000 and is a proud Wongi/Yamatji and Bidjara woman, and she was the first Indigenous gymnast to be selected on an Australian team.
Paige was enrolled in Jednorog Gymnastics Academy as a six-year-old after her parents watched her flip off couches and washing lines and decided she should learn how to do this properly. She was soon offered a place in the West Australian institute of Sport program and became a member of the Australian Junior National squad.
2013 proved to be a breakout year. Paige was the youngest gymnast selected to represent Australia as part of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival squad, as a 12-year-old. That same year, she won the silver medal in Floor and All-Around at the Perth Dreamlight International Challenge and travelled to Leninsk-Kuznetskiyin to compete at the International Year of the Child tournament. A standout routine earned her a gold medal on Floor and a silver medal in the All-Around category in Russia.
Unfortunately, injury struck Paige late in 2013 and she was forced to sit out gymnastics for many months. She returned in 2014 to win gold on Floor at the Victorian State Championships and at the national titles, where she also won bronze on Vault. These results earned her a place in the Junior National Squad.
Honours & Achievements
- 2013: Representative on the Australian team, competing at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF).
- 2013: competing for Australia at the Perth Dreamlight International Challenge (Silver medallist overall & silver medallist on the floor).
- 2013: International Year of the Child tournament in Leninsk-Kuznetskiyin, Russia (Gold medal on the floor and silver in the all-around category).
- 2014: Australian National championships competing in the Junior International category. (Gold on Floor & Bronze on Vault).
- 2014: Member of Australian Junior National Squad.
- 2015: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder.
