The Basin-bred Tyson Bull has been crowned the first Australian male to make an artistic gymnastics Olympics final, having secured his chance to compete in the decider at Tokyo.
Bull finished fifth in the horizontal bar event last Tuesday night (3 August), and while a slip off the bar cut short his dreams of a medal, just getting there will see him remembered in history books long into the future.
Speaking to the Star Mail, Bull’s mother Christine said the family were overwhelmed with pride watching their boy compete on the world stage.
“It’s just overwhelming to see all of his hard work that he has put in over many years coming to fruition,” she said.
Christine said the Olympics were always a dream for Tyson, who quickly established himself as a notch above the rest when he began “kinder gymnastics” at just five years of age.
“We have three boys, Tyson is the youngest. We started them all at gym for coordination and balance but Tyson just loved it and kept going. He couldn’t get enough of it,” his mum said.
Tyson did gymnastics at Knox Gym until age 10, when his coaches told his parents they’d need to take him to the high performance centre in Prahran due to his skill level being beyond his age.
“We were travelling to Prahran five or six times a week at that stage,” Christine said.
“The Olympics were always a dream of his. We took the kids away in 2000 to Stradbroke Island in Queensland and we were watching Cathy Freeman win her gold and I think that’s just always been his inspiration, he’s always wanted to win gold and bring home a medal,” she said.
Having placed in the top eight at the 2019 World Championships, the thought of winning gold has been on Tyson’s mind for almost two years, with the long 10-day break between the Olympic qualifier and final only adding fuel to his fire.
But it just wasn’t to be at his first Olympics, with the 28-year-old local falling off the bar during his routine and receiving a score of 12.466 – short of his qualifying score and personal best of 14.4333.
Mum Christine and family watched on nervously during his whole Olympic experience, and huddled into the local pub in The Basin alongside the rest of the community for the final.
“We went to a bar in The Basin so that lots of friends and family could share the moment with us,” she said.
“He was a bit disappointed that it didn’t come off the way he wanted. He didn’t care that he didn’t win a medal, he just wanted to show everyone what he can do and what he had been training for. It’s just the build up having to wait ten days for the final and then the emotions just come out after the competition,” his mum said.
But those cheering on from home couldn’t be prouder of their local hero, with the Basin Bakery team baking yellow and green Olympic cupcakes with Tyson’s face on them and the local CFA encouraging the community to tune in to his events.
“He said the experience has been awesome,” Christine said.
Bull will now return to Australia and complete the required quarantine in Sydney.
