During September 2009, top Namibian Rhythmic gymnast Nicole Bierbach participated in the 29th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Mie, Japan. This is the first time ever that Namibia has qualified to attend the World Championships and has been represented at this event.
The talented young gymnast did not allow herself to be intimidated by the extremely high standard of the gymnasts she was competing with, although they were the best in the world and possessed a wealth more experience in both training and international competitions, than she did.
At the young age of 16, this was also Nicole’s first event of this stature, requiring of her to endure considerable pressure and overcome her apprehension in order to perform with such focus, determination and poise.
National coach Angelika Lepekha stated that the goals set for Namibia for this event were realistic:
“Namibia’s aim was to introduce our country and our top gymnast to the World Championship realm, and to ‘show our faces and be proud.’”
She said that the gymnast had exceeded her expectations, performing each routine with a poise, consistency and wonderful presentation that had many superior countries seeking Namibia out to give their compliments.
Members of the Russian, Kazakhstan, Lithuanian, South African, American, Romanian and Greek delegations all came forward, with their praise and congratulations on Bierbach’s good performance.
Nicole finished in 118th position overall, out of a total of 142 gymnasts from 54 countries. She finished 113th in the Rope competition, 117 in the Hoop competition, 116 in the Ball competition and 117 in the Ribbon competition.
Lepekha reiterated that Nicole Bierbach has strongly maintained her position as the top Rhythmic Gymnast in Namibia for the past five years, since she entered the realm of High Performance gymnastics at the age of 12. Her performance at the World Championships has consolidated her ranking yet again, she said.
The total costs of Bierbach’s participation amounted to almost N$65,000. Considerable funds were donated by the gymnast and coach’s home club, the Windhoek based SKW Gymnastics Academy, the Rhythmic Namibia Gymnastics Federation, Microsoft Namibia and Rennies Travel.
“Without their generous assistance, the team’s participation in Japan would not have been possible and we are extremely grateful to all our kind sponsors and supporters,” Bierbach’s mother Meagan said.