After her glittering state and national level junior athletics career was cut short by recurrent knee injuries at age 14, and a plunge into swimming cruelled at the ripe old age of 18, Melissa Hanson discovered a love of gymnastics after taking her children to WAG and MAG classes in Dubbo.
Not at all content to stay on the sidelines, she literally leapt at the chance to take part in floor, apparatus and fitness competitions and set herself on a three-year path to the 2022 Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast from 4-13 November.
“I had never done competitive gymnastics as a child – I only did some basic vaulting and floor in primary school,” Melissa said.
“I always loved the thought of doing gymnastics, but because of the knee issue, I always thought I would never be able to do it because of the twisting and landing movements.
“I moved on to swimming after athletics was ruled out by my orthopaedic surgeon, but when I finished swimming, I never really did any sports or anything active after my children were born,” she said.
Melissa Master’s gymnastics story started just three years ago with a not-so-subtle dig from her eldest daughter.
“During the times before COVID when you could sit and watch my three kids do gymnastics in Dubbo, I would try to give them advice about how to do something like a forward roll or a cartwheel.
“My eldest hated that Mum would try to correct her, and one day she turned to me and said, ‘If you think you’re so good, why don’t you do it?!’
“So, I did!
“I asked the club manager Karen if adults could do gymnastics, and she straight away started an adult’s class.
“It was a rag-tag group of adults in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and even 50s who were ageing just like fine wine.
“Some of us had no experience in gymnastics at all, and some had done gymnastics as a child but gave it up in their teenage years.
“I quickly worked out that Uneven Bars was my favourite apparatus, and Beam was my nemesis,” she said.
But just as things were getting competitive in the gym, another sporting mishap while training in yet another sport set things back a bit.
“About four months after I started adult gymnastics, I suffered a catastrophic knee injury while doing karate and had to have my biggest knee surgery to date.
“But as soon as I was cleared by my orthopaedic surgeon, I was back in that gym – mostly on the bars and rings.
“I also started at a local CrossFit gym called Red City, and that was the most amazing complement to my Masters gymnastics journey – I gained strength and knowledge regarding virtuous gymnastics shapes, as well as stability in my knee joints that I have never experienced in my life.
“This gave rise to me gaining confidence to try new things; skills I never thought I would ever be able to do.
“Yet here I was doing splits for the first time ever, attempting kips and front and back handsprings, and hanging off rings with static holds – stronger than ever at almost 40!
“I’ve had a further two knee surgeries since then, so I’m up to six in total, and I still have one to go in the future (not that I’m counting), and I’m still improving – stronger, fitter, and more flexible than ever,” she said.
And it was that growing confidence in her own powers of recovery that set Melissa on her 2022 Pan Pacs journey.
“I just went, ‘You know what, if my daughter can get up and perform in front of people and be so proud and excited in her improvement, so can I!’
