Comeback tilt for WA star
Olympian Daria Joura is back training alongside Australia's newest gymnastic sensation Lauren Mitchell after a 12 month injury lay-off.
The WAIS duo spearheaded Australia's Beijing campaign before a training accident on the eve of competition derailed the three-times national champion's medal aspirations.
After two foot operations and more than a year off, Joura has resumed training in the hope of reviving her career.
WAIS head of gymnastics Liz Chetkovich said Joura had used the past year to concentrate on her university studies.
"She is finally ready to get back into training and is testing the waters to see how her body holds up," Chetkovich said.
"She has not committed herself to any specific goals and would like to see if she still enjoys training at top level."
Joura, whose best result was a sixth all-around in her first world championships in Aarhus, Belgium, in 2006, claimed numerous World Cup medals and three national all-around titles, beating Mitchell in the process.
She again reached the finals at the world championships in 2007 and was in sensational form heading into the Beijing Olympics before she was injured.
"It has taken her all this time to process the fact that she was in such peak form going into the Games without having the opportunity to show what she was capable of," Chetkovich said.
"One of the first obstacles will be to regain the full range of movement in her foot, which I am confident will come, and the other is to find a way of fitting training into university life while working part-time to support herself."
Chetkovich is confident the 19-year-old still has the necessary skills to succeed with limited changes to the scoring code for the 2012 London Olympic cycle.
"Daria has been out for 12 months so you can say it would probably take the same amount of time to get back again," she said.
"In the first instance we have to see how her body responds to training and then decide whether she still enjoys being in the gym."
Chetkovich believes the Commonwealth Games in October may be beyond Joura with selection trials scheduled for Perth in July.
"I would think it is too early but you can never say never," she said. "When you have had that amount of time off and get back too quickly you risk overuse injury."
Joura will not be measuring herself against Mitchell, a dual apparatus silver medallist at last year's world championships.
Mitchell's weaker apparatus are Joura's strongest - the vault and uneven bars, while both are similar on the floor when at their best.
"If she can get back into shape it would be a wonderful combination," Chetkovich said.
Emily Little and Georgia Simpson will join WAIS' assault on the national senior team for the Commonwealth Games and Pacific Rim championships.
Ashley Cooney and Nikki Chung are part of the national junior squad.
