Anna-Marie Ondaatje
| Anna-Marie Ondaatje | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Anna-Marie Suzanne Quint Ondaatje |
| Country represented |
  |
| Born |
1 September 2000 Markham, Ontario, Canada |
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics |
| Level | senior level international |
| Head coach(es) | Svetlana Joukova |
| Former coach(es) | Mimi Masleva |
Anna-Marie Suzanne Quint Ondaatje also simply known as Anna-Marie Ondaatje (born 1 September 2000) is a Canadian born female rhythmic gymnast of Sri Lankan descent. She has competed in national level competitions in Canada and has represented both Canada and then switched to compete for Sri Lanka in international gymnastics events.[1] She became the first rhythmic gymnast either male or female to represent Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games after creating history for the nation at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and was also named as one of just three female gymnasts from Sri Lanka to represent at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[2][3]
Biography
Anna-Marie Ondaatje was born on 1 September 2000 in Canada to parents of Sri Lankan origin, Alistair Ondaatje and Suzanne Ondaatje who hailed from the town of Wattala, Hendala which is situated downtown to Colombo.
She initially took the discipline of artistic gymnastics at the age of nine but her father suggested Anna-Marie to engage in rhythmic gymnastics to focus on the flexibility considering the feminine oriented discipline, a suitable option unlike the artistic gymnastics.[4]
Career
Canada (2014–2016)
After switching from artistic gymnastics to rhythmic gymnastics, Anna-Marie Ondaatje has competed at the provincial and national level Championships in Canada.[5] She also took part at the 2014 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships representing Canada and finished fourth in a junior group event.[6]
Sri Lanka (2017-present)
Anna-Marie Ondaatje went onto represent Sri Lanka at the 2017 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships which was also her first senior level competition for the nation and became the first ever gymnast to compete for Sri Lanka at an international rhythmic gymnastics championship.[7][8] She competed in the individual qualification event and finished on 75th position with 42.400 total points.[9]
Anna-Marie fortunately made her Commonwealth Games debut at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games representing Sri Lanka despite the carelessness of the Sri Lanka Gymnastic Association which failed to submit the entry list of the gymnasts to the Commonwealth Games Federation before the expiration of the deadline.[10] However the CGF allowed only female gymnasts from Sri Lanka to compete at the Commonwealth Games with the intention of maintaining gender equality during the event. Anna-Marie Ondaatje was eligible to participate at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with the permission of the Commonwealth Games Federation and competed in the rhythmic gymnastics events. She finished on 11th position out of 16 athletes in the women's individual all round finals and became the first Sri Lankan gymnast ever to qualify for the final in a Gymnastic event at the Commonwealth Games.[11][12]
She also qualified to represent Sri Lanka at the 2018 Asian Games as the only gymnast from Sri Lanka to have progressed to compete at the 2018 Asian Games, which also marked her maiden Asian Games event. [13][14]
References
- ↑ "ONDAATJE Anna-Marie". www.fig-gymnastics.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Anna-Marie Ondaatje ready to create history in Gold Coast". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Rhythmic Gymnastics | Athlete Profile: Anna-Marie ONDAATJE - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Biography — Anna-Marie Gymnastics". anna-marieondaatje.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Anna-Marie Ondaatje | Gymnastics Canada". www.gymcan.org. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Pacific Rim Championships 2014 Richmond (CAN) 2014 Apr 10-13". www.gymnasticsresults.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Bend it and twirl it like Anna-Marie". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ Saoud, Anis. "Asian Gymnastics Union - Anna-Marie Ondaatje dreams of representing Sri Lanka in 2020 Olympics". agu-gymnastics.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "All-around qualification results" (PDF). gymmedia. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Anna-Marie Ondaatje lucky to represent Sri Lanka at the 21st Commonwealth Games (2018 Gold Coast)". dailylankadeepa.newspaperdirect.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Sunday Times - CWG Update: Anna-Marie finishes at 11th in Rhythmic Gymnastics". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "Rhythmic Gymnastics | Event Schedule Individual All-Around - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ Madurawe, Rahul. "Anna-Marie Ondaatje to grace Asian Games for Sri Lanka". www.thepapare.com. Dialog Axiata. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ↑ Maloney, Gillian (18 August 2018). "Anna-Marie Ondaatje to grace Asian Games for Sri Lanka". I Lanka News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
External links