Sport
5 March, 2024
Kasen is jumping his way to Olympics
Kasen Hetherington is shining the spotlight on a gymnastics sport some may be unfamiliar with: trampolining.
Bay local has been selected as part of the Australian squad for trampolining, set to represent the country in Portugal, in July, for his first world championship.
Having already competed and succeeded in multiple state and national competitions, Kasen is now taking on the international stage as a stepping stone for the Olympic Games.
“My dream is to make the Olympics and if I work hard enough I hope to make it by 2028, if not then by the 2032 games,” he said.
To achieve his goal, Kasen needs to attend every world competition and accumulate points.
This means his family’s goal is to have the financial means of getting him to every world championship, starting with Portugal, as the trip is self-funded.
With his big ambitions and experience at a young age, Kasen is very familiar with the pressures of high performance, but he has found a way to navigate around the stress and use it in his favour.
“The pressure does get to me sometimes and I do get very nervous, but I use the nerves to my advantage,” he said.
“I try not to think about it and if I do, I use it to jump higher and perform better.”
Starting at eight years old, as a way of safely practicing his love for jumping and doing tricks on the backyard trampoline, Kasen quickly went from practicing two times per week to now training five days every week, while being home-schooled by his mother.
“Sometimes I do get very exhausted, but just force myself to go to training because I can’t see myself having a life without trampolining,” he said.
His mother, Tegan, has opened a fundraiser via the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) to help raise money to make his dream come true, with just the Portugal competitions costing close to $9,000.
“I’m very proud of him and want to do everything to help him achieve his goal and fulfil his dream,” Tegan said.
“I’ve always made sure he knows he has the option to stop if he chooses to, but he just loves it so much and works so hard.”
Kasen is one of six Redland City Gymsports members to qualify for the Australian trampolining squad, with Beau Edwards, Tyga Stimson, Charlotte Johnstone, Bryce Edwards and silver medallist Harrison Lee also making the cut for different categories.
Kasen wants to personally thank his coach Lyn Gilroy for helping him achieve his goals.
For those interested to support Kasen’s journey, his fundraiser page can be found at https://cutt.ly/HwM2ULHc
