Michael Dobroskok’s parents knew they had a fearless four-year-old on their hands when he started using the living room as a parkour course.
Signing him up to a gymnastics club was a matter of safety.
“They saw me doing rolls on the floor and jumping off things around the house, so they thought just to keep me safe they’d put me into gymnastics lessons,” Dobroskok remembers.
Now 18, the artistic gymnast indulges his daredevil spirit by training up to six days a week with the Gold Coast Gymnastics Club.
Dobroskok’s dedication paid off recently at the 2023 Australian Gymnastics Championships where he won three bronze medals in the floor, pommel horse, and team events.
His next challenge is to qualify for the Austrian Future Cup in December which attracts top young gymnasts from around the globe.
“We’re now coming to the end of our season so I’ve pretty much done everything I can to secure qualification,” he said.
As part of the selection process Dobroskok recently attended a week-long camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
“It was a pretty intensive process,” he said.
“We trained about 33 hours throughout the week, but I think I went pretty well.”
Dobroskok should know the outcome of his qualification within the next two months.
Outside of his gymnastic ambitions, he is completing the first semester of a Bachelor of Psychological Science degree at Bond University.
Much like his chosen sport, Dobroskok is handling the competing demands with grace and determination.