After cruelly missing out on qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games, Australia’s world-class apparatus competitors Phil Rizzo (Australian Institute of Sport) and Prashanth Sellathurai (New South Wales Institute of Sport) have a point to prove in 2009.

Sellathurai, the 2006 world championship silver medallist who only stands 1.5m tall, has just returned from the Russian World Cup where he placed second in the pommel horse event. The 2012 Olympic medal contender, affectionately referred to in gymnastics circles as ‘prince of the pommel’, will display his world-class moves at the Australian National Gymnastics Championships, held at Chandler, Brisbane from 7–9 July.

The National Gymnastics Championships, which double as the first round of selection trials for the world championships, will also feature Phil Rizzo, the 28-year-old stalwart of Australian gymnastics who won the world high bar title in 2006.

Reigning national champion Josh Jefferis (Australian Institute of Sport) will not defend his all-around crown in Brisbane — surgery to his right forearm earlier this year will restrict him to competing in just two events next week: the parallel bars and the rings.

Jefferis’s absence leaves the door open for Beijing Olympian Sam Simpson and Sam Offord (South Australian Sports Institute) to battle it out for the coveted all-around title. With just two all-around spots available for this year’s world championships team and a host of junior athletes biting at their heels for those much sought-after positions, the pair will be keen to make a strong impression in Brisbane.