A sports aerobics trio has defied the odds, qualifying for the World Championships in Belgium despite all three girls suffering an ankle injury.
Summer Rogers, Charlotte Invincibile and Haylee Macmillan are heading to Belgium this October to represent the green and gold for the Sport Aerobics World Championships in the junior division.
The trio represents the sports aerobic club Industrie 1 and has recently qualified for the World Championships at Nationals in early September.
Hayley’s mother and Industrie 1 worker Gemma Macmillan said the girls did not have it easy, with all three girls experiencing a left ankle injury.
“Hayley was in hospital until five days prior to Nationals because she dropped a glass on her foot,” she said.
“Charlotte then tore a ligament in her ankle shortly after.”
Ms Macmillan said the guidelines only allowed one member to be replaced in the trio to qualify for Worlds.
“Hayley was not supposed to compete at Nationals but after Charlotte injured her ankle, Hayley needed to perform,” she said.
“We had another Industrie 1 team member Kayla Jennings step in to replace Charlotte to help the trio qualify.”
Ms Macmillan said Nationals was stressful for everyone, especially since Kayla only learnt the routine a week out from the event.
“Kayla had a lot of pressure on herself to learn the routine and she did amazingly [well],” she said.
“The girls did really well considering what they were served with.”
She said the girls were thrilled after qualifying for Worlds, especially after such a wild journey to get there.
“I took Hayley to Worlds last year and she is excited to finally compete this year,” Ms Macmillan said.
I am so grateful that they have two really amazing coaches that really help them get where they need to be.
The 2023 World Championships is a highly anticipated event for Sport Aerobic enthusiasts and is set to be held in Belgium from October 26-28.