Sri Lanka’s rhythmic gymnast Anna-Marie Ondaatje will take her first step to achieve her dream of representing the country in the 2024 Paris Olympics when she competes in the 2022 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria from September 14 to 18.
Anna-Marie qualified for the world championship after giving an impressive performance in the all-around event at the 13th Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships held in Thailand in June.
“I am so grateful and excited, words can’t describe it. Qualifying for the 2022 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria means a lot to me. I hope to represent my country strongly and make my team proud,” said the 21-year-old Canadian-born gymnast whose parents are Sri Lankan.
“As a 10-year-old, I only dreamed of being able to qualify to compete at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships,” added Anna-Marie, who will be participating in her fourth world competition.
She made her debut for Sri Lanka at the 2017 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada after switching her nationality. The first and only rhythmic gymnast to represent Sri Lanka at international level, Anna-Marie qualified to the finals at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and Jakarta Asian Games.
Competing without a coach at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Anna-Marie performed creditably to qualify for the all-around finals as a first reserve.
Asked about her preparation for the World Championships, she said: “These days training is focused on keeping a healthy mind, body and spirit. Mind over matter; keeping positive and believing in all my work at training. We are repeating our routines to maintain stability and doing strength training to keep our injuries at bay.”
“I am looking forward to my fourth World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria and honoured to represent Sri Lanka. We will keep focused until the end,” said Anna-Marie who has put Sri Lanka on the global map in the sport.