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 Australia's top gymnastics hope for London, Lauren Mitchell of Perth claimed two titles on Sunday as the Australian championships concluded in Sydney. After skipping the all-around competition, former world champion Lauren Mitchell (Western Australia) won two event titles as the 2012 Australian Gymnastics Championships concluded in Sydney. Mitchell, the only Australian woman to win a world title in gymnastics, grabbed gold medals on balance beam and floor exercise. She competed vault, beam and floor exercise in Sydney, skipping uneven bars to protect a sore shoulder. The 20-year-old Mitchell earned marks of 9.000 in execution on both beam and floor on Sunday. "The last couple of weeks I've been focusing on my competition skills more than anything else," Mitchell said. "I think that really shone through today, especially on beam." Mitchell is Australia's top hope for London, where she hopes to become the first Aussie gymnast to win an Olympic medal. She is a contender for medals on balance beam and floor exercise, and tested her Olympic routines in Sydney. "[My floor routine] was better than my efforts the last couple of days," she said. "I wasn't really focused on the outcome at all — I know if I can do my job the outcome will be there." Three-time national champion Daria Joura, 22, won the vault title with a clean double-twisting Yurchenko. Now representing Queensland, the 2008 Olympian returned to training in January and decided to enter the national championships as a two-event specialist. 2008 Olympian Olivia Vivian, who wrapped up her college career at Oregon State University in April, brought Western Australia a third title with the gold medal on uneven bars. All-around champion Ashleigh Brennan (Victoria) added bronze medals on balance beam and floor exercise. All-around runner-up Emily Little (Western Australia) picked up two more silvers on vault and floor. More than medals were at stake in Sydney; the competition is the first step toward a spot on Australia's Olympic team. A training squad will be invited to Canberra in June for a final camp and competition. "You always want to show Peggy (Liddick) and all the other selectors what you can do," Little said. "Part of the selection is being able to perform at competitions like this and at the camp." 2010 national champion Georgia Bonora placed fifth on balance beam and seventh on uneven bars. Bonora, Brennan, Joura, Mitchell and Vivian were all members of Australia's sixth-place squad from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing; Stanford sophomore Shona Morgan was the only 2008 team member absent in Sydney. Georgia Godwin, who defended her junior all-around title in Sydney, added gold medals on vault and balance beam. The Queenslander will be age eligible for the world championships in 2013. External Link: Australian Gymnastics Federation 2012 Australian Gymnastics Championships
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