Katrina Cameron
Canadian rhythmic gymnast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katrina Cameron (born 9 May 1995) is a Canadian retired group rhythmic gymnast. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics and won bronze in the all-around at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. Between the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games, she won a total of five medals with the Canadian group.
represented
Canada (2007–2016)
| Katrina Cameron | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 May 1995 |
| Height | 157 cm (5 ft 2 in) |
| Gymnastics career | |
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics |
Country represented | Canada (2007–2016) |
| Retired | 2016 |
Medal record | |
Career
Cameron began both artistic and rhythmic gymnastics at 4 years old.[1] She started focusing on rhythmic because she was flexible and liked the leotards worn by rhythmic gymnasts.[2] At age ten, she attended a training camp in Russia that lasted over a month, which she attributed with helping her to learn independence.[3]
In 2009, Cameron competed in the junior group at the 2009 Junior Pan American Championships. The group won the all-around, which qualified them to compete at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.[4]
The next year, in May, she competed as an individual at the 2010 Pacific Rim Championships. With her teammates, she won bronze in the team competition.[5] In August, she competed at the first-ever Youth Olympics as a group member; the Canadian group rose from 4th after qualifications to win the bronze medal.[6]
In 2011, she became a member of the senior group.[7] At the 2011 Pan American Games, Cameron and the other members of the group won silver in the all-around. In the event finals, they won a second silver in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final and bronze in the 5 balls final.[8] Heading into the 2011 World Championships, the group aimed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics.[7] They placed 17th in the all-around,[9] and as the top-ranked team from the Americas, qualified a berth at the upcoming Olympics. This was the first time Canada had qualified a group for the Olympics.[1]
At the Olympics, during the qualification round, the Canadian group finished their 5 balls routine in last place after making a mistake during their performance.[10] They moved up a place after their second routine but did not qualify to the final round.[11]
After the Olympics, Cameron considered retiring, particularly because she wanted to move away to attend Brock University. She flipped a coin to help make her decision, and she decided to continue competing.[3]
In 2014, Cameron and the Candian group competed at the Pan American Championships in August to qualify for the upcoming 2015 Pan American Games, hosted in Toronto. In the all-around, they finished in 5th place and just qualified. Cameron said she had learned shortly before the competition that they would not automatically qualify because Canada would be hosting the Games.[12] At the 2014 World Championships, they placed 21st.[9]
In 2015, Cameron was the oldest member of the group competing at the Pan American Games and served as the team captain. Ahead of the Games, they competed at a Grand Prix event in Europe where they placed over the Brazilian group, the favorites for the Games.[13] At the Games, the group placed 5th in the all-around and won bronze in both event finals.[2] The group placed 19th at the 2015 World Championships.[9]
Cameron announced her retirement in July 2016.[3]
Personal life
Cameron has an older sister and two younger brothers. She is naturally left-handed and had to learn to use the apparatuses with her right hand to join the senior national group.[2] She studied at St. Martin Secondary School before studying humanities at York University.[2][10]