Heath Thorpe was devastated this summer when the Australia’s gymnastics governing body failed to select him for the World Championships.
But as it turns out, the heartthrob gymnast will be there anyway.
Thorpe announced Sunday he’ll be covering the marquee event in Belgium… as a journalist!
In addition to tearing it up on the mat, Thorpe has been working towards his communications degree.
There’s no better place to put his reporting skills to the test than one of the biggest international competitions in gymnastics. Many superstars will be participating, including Simone Biles.
“Got my media accreditation for the World Championships and my first journalist gig!” he posted. “Let me know any interviews, previews, features you would like to see… as well as any podium training requests so I can start planning properly.”
His announcement, unsurprisingly, elicited many congratulations.
Australian Fed: Heath, you’re not going to World’s.
— Terry Simson (@TerrySimson) September 10, 2023
Heath: Bet.
Use your relationships with the gymnasts to your advantage to connect on another level major media outlets can’t. ask the questions / get us the responses we won’t usually get from their interviews 🙃
— N.K. (@arabianDLO) September 10, 2023
Congratulations! Can’t wait to see what you give us!
— Margaret Jackins (@marthebass) September 10, 2023
Awesome! I can’t wait to see your coverage of the event
— Cara, a behatted & becatted ace (@girlwithhat) September 10, 2023
Thorpe’s snub from the World Championships was a surprise. This spring, he won the Australian All-Around Championships, one of the country’s highest honors in his sport.
He was also part of the team that earned Australia a place in the World Championships, winning the competition’s floor event for the second year in a row.
Back in July, Thorpe appealed his non-selection to the National Sports Tribunal, which partially upheld his case. When Australia Gymnastics didn’t reverse its decision, he appealed once again, but lacked the financial means to move forward.
“I did not have the financial means to continue the case,” he wrote at the time. “I was also emotionally exhausted and isolated. This process had been going on for weeks.”
As one of the Olympics’ biggest qualifiers, Thorpe’s absence from the World Championships also harms his chances of competing at next year’s Summer Games in Paris.
“It is obviously a huge blow to my chances to qualify for the Paris Olympics,” Thorpe told Gymnastics Now. “The 2023 World Championships are the biggest Olympic qualifier, so to not be afforded such an opportunity is really devastating and shattering. The all-around qualification method would have been my best chance given my recent upwards trajectory.”
Despite the insult, Thorpe has persisted. He’s spent September competing in two big events: the World Cup Final and World Challenge Cup. The former, which was held in Turkey, occurred on Thorpe’s 23rd birthday.
He wound up finishing fifth in his competition.
“Celebrating my 23rd birthday doing what I love most,” he wrote on Instagram. “Traveling the world and performing on the international stage! Still some small errors today but managed to score a 13.600 (8.7 E) and finish 5th in my 2nd ever World Cup final.”
Thorpe wasn’t quite as successful at the World Challenge Cup, but says he walked away from the competition intact.
“Had the worst block on my vault, accidentally did a double twist which I haven’t trained in 3 years… and stuck it?,” he posted. “Today was one of those days I’m just happy to walk away healthy from a competition haha. Onto bundlesiga we go!”
Still, Thorpe seemed to be enjoying himself in Hungary’s late-summer heat.
Before the World Championships, Thorpe will travel to Germany to compete in a professional league, he told Queerty last month.
With a huge social media following (more than 160,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram combined), Thorpe is ready for his media star turn. He has the credentials, legitimacy and looks to take over the screen.
We can’t wait to see how his coverage unfolds. It will almost certainly be easy on the eyes.
Discover more
Fahd
He hasn’t accomplished as much as he has without being persistent. Good for him…..I imagine these sports where gatekeepers have so much power can be very difficult. I’m reminded about some of the stories told about the pressures on male figure skaters in the U.S.
I wish he could find a way to represent another nation…No relative with a different nationality?
Anyway, I hope Queerty will commission a report from him and the best to him.
MickeyMoose
Is there anything stopping him from competing representing some other country? Screw Oz if they don’t want him.
dali
Once again in the title? Queerty, please get a proofreader! And I’m not even a native English speaker.