Emily Whitehead (Gymnastics) returned for her second Commonwealth Games in 2022 after she claimed bronze in both the Vault and in Team event on the Gold Coast four years earlier. In Birmingham, she added a bronze in the floor exercise and silver in the Team event. She also qualified for the All-Around and Vault finals. Emily’s mother, Victoria, has been a gymnastics coach since 1993  and Emily decided to take up gymnastics when she was four after seeing how much fun her sister was having in the sport. Since 2011, Emily has finished in the top five on nearly 20 occasions at the Australian Championships, breaking through at the 2015 Junior Nationals. She made the podium in all five events, winning gold on the Uneven Bars, Floor Exercise and All-Around. However, a torn calf muscle ruled her out of a number of events in 2016, denying her a chance to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Things improved in 2017 when she finished 10th in the All- Around at the L’International Gymnix in Canada and then claimed silver in the Vault at the 2018 World Cup event in Melbourne. In the middle of 2019, she suffered fractures in her back, leading to a break from the gym for over three months and causing her to doubt whether she wanted to continue, but her coach John Hart prevailed. A wise choice as silver placings in Uneven Bars, Floor and All-Around at the 2021 Nationals led to Olympic selection for Tokyo where she competed in the All-Around but missed the final. Emily finished second in the All-Around title at the 2022 Australian Championships, 1st on the Floor, 3rd on the Balance Beam and was tied for 4th in the Uneven Bars.