Alan Osman loves gymnastics. The 15-year-old has been doing it from the age of seven where he would do somersaults on the trampoline at his family’s home.
“Alan would always be jumping on the trampoline in the backyard or practising in the family lounge room when he was small,” his father Hazim says.
“We have supported him since he was little where his mother dedicates a lot of her time taking him to his training and events.”
That support and Alan’s tireless dedication to his craft has seen him reach the highest levels – representing Australia at international competitions.
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In October, Alan and his teammates travelled to England for the London Open, where he competed against the best local gymnasts in the apparatus international.
“I and my teammates went really well, I came first in the apparatus international and I got to verse other competitors from other countries in the world.”
Alan climbed the ranks of gymnastics in this country, previously representing New South Wales.
He will soon return to Europe to represent the green and gold.
“I am going to Austria because I got selected for a national team, Australia versus Austria, unlike other competition where I used to represent New South Wales but now I will be representing Australia.“
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Path to the top
Even though Alan tried playing other sports such as soccer when he was younger, his love for gymnastics took over and he chose to take that path forward.
“I chose to become a gymnast because naturally I was flexible and I like to jump around and I had a natural talent for it,” he says.
“I was really good on the trampoline and I thought I’ll do this as a sport.”
He was initially hesitant about the sport because he did not know much about it.
“At first I was a little bit hesitant, I didn’t want to do it, it’s a weird thing to do but the more I was doing it I fell in love with it.
“The reason I felt weird is because I didn’t know anything about gymnastics. I thought it would be boring and didn’t see it on TV.”
Currently, he juggles his school work with a gruelling training regime.
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“I train six times a week, Monday to Sunday four hours a day. I basically do all my homework at school or after training.
“Pommel gymnastics is my favourite and it’s one of the hardest things to do, I’m really good at it, and it’s more fun than the other apparatuses.”
His philosophy for success is to keep on trying harder.
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“Just try as hard as you can to achieve what you want and just push that extra bit of effort, it’s a lot better for people to have hope inside themselves and you might achieve what you want to do.”
His next goal is to represent Australia at the senior level at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“Mainly my hopes and dreams are to make it for the next Olympics and hopefully make the Olympics for the apparatus I want to go for. Representing Australia is an amazing feeling, it feels like all that hard work and hours you’ve put in, it feels like it’s paid off.”
