Kate McDonald (gymnast)
Australian artistic gymnast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kate McDonald (born 1 August 2000) is an Australian artistic gymnast. She is the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion on the balance beam and silver medalist in the team event. She represented Australia at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
represented
Australia (2016–present)
| Kate McDonald | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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McDonald in 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 August 2000 East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented | Australia (2016–present) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | CYC gym sports | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach | Jeb Silsbury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
McDonald was born in East Melbourne in 2000. She took up gymnastics when she was five years old.[1]
Gymnastics career
McDonald competed with the Australian team that won a bronze medal at the 2018 Pacific Rim Championships, and she won a bronze medal in the uneven bars final.[2][3] She also won the uneven bars bronze medals at the 2018 and 2019 Australian Championships.[4] She was selected to compete at the 2019 World Championships alongside Georgia-Rose Brown, Georgia Godwin, Talia Folino, and Emma Nedov. The team placed 13th in the qualification round, meaning they missed qualifying as a full team for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[5] At the 2020 International Gymnix, she won the balance beam silver medal behind Faith Torrez.[6]
McDonald won silver medals on both the uneven bars and balance beam at the 2022 Australian Championships.[4] She was then selected to compete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games alongside Georgia Godwin, Romi Brown, Breanna Scott, and Emily Whitehead. Together they won the silver medal in the team competition, behind England.[7] During event finals McDonald won gold on balance beam ahead of teammate Godwin and Emma Spence of Canada.[8] She then competed with the Australian team that placed tenth at the 2022 World Championships, making them the second reserves for the final.[9]
At the 2023 World Championships, McDonald helped Australia finish ninth and earn a full team berth to the 2024 Summer Olympics. Individually, she was the third reserve for the uneven bars final.[10] She helped Australia win the team silver medal at the 2024 DTB Pokal Team Challenge, and she won the uneven bars silver medal behind Qiu Qiyuan.[11] She was named to the Australian team to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games alongside Emma Nedov, Ruby Pass, Breanna Scott, and Emily Whitehead.[12] The team finished tenth in the qualifications, making them the second reserve for the team final.[13]
McDonald won her first FIG World Cup medal at the 2025 Osijek World Cup with a bronze on the uneven bars.[14] She then won the uneven bars gold medal at the Doha World Cup.[15]
Personal life
As of 2024, McDonald is studying a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Environmental Management and Sustainability) at Deakin University.[16][17]
Competitive history
| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Australian Championships | 8 |  | ||||
| 2018 | Pacific Rim Championships |  | | ||||
| Australian Championships | | ||||||
| 2019 | Australian Championships | 5 | | ||||
| FIT Challenge | | 23 | |||||
| Australian Classic | |  | | ||||
| World Championships | 13 | ||||||
| 2020 | International Gymnix | 5 | 7 | | 6 | ||
| 2021 | Australian Championships | | |||||
| 2022 | Australian Championships | 4 | | | |||
| Oceania Championships | | | | | 5 | ||
| Commonwealth Games | | 7 | | ||||
| World Championships | R2 | ||||||
| 2023 | |||||||
| World Championships | 9 | ||||||
| 2024 | DTB Pokal Team Challenge | | | ||||
| Olympic Games | 10 | ||||||
| 2025 | Osijek World Cup | | 7 | ||||
| Doha World Cup | | 4 | |||||
| World University Games | 13 | 14 | 5 | ||||
| World Championships | 5 | ||||||
| 2026 | Antalya World Cup | 8 | | |
