Georgina Cassar (born 9 September 1993) is a Gibraltarian/British

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and co ...

. She represented Gibraltar at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and competed for

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

at the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early life

Cassar was born on 9 September 1993 in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

to Maltese father Franco and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

mother Jackie. The family settled in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in 1996 when her father took up a senior post at a local bank. She was mainly educated in Gibraltar having attended Governor's Meadow Primary School, Bishop Fitzgerald Middle School and Westside School.

Gymnastics career

Cassar began training in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

at the age of three. Cassar represented Gibraltar at the

. She came 16th in the overall competition. In 2012, she travelled to Bath to train full-time with the Olympic team. While there, she studied

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

in psychology, biology and PE at King Edward's School. She planned on remaining in Bath for her second year of A-levels following the games.

Olympic debut

Cassar competed for

at the 2012 Summer Olympics in

. She could not represent her native

because the Gibraltar Olympic Committee is not recognised by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

; however, using a similar by-law to

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The terr ...

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

Shara Proctor Shara Proctor (born 16 September 1988) is a British former long jumper born in Anguilla. She is the national record holder of both Anguilla and Great Britain. On 28 August 2015 at the World Championships in Beijing she became the first British, ...

and Turks and Caicos Islander

Delano Williams Delano Williams (born 23 December 1993) is a British sprinter, originally from the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. In June 2013, it was confirmed that Williams would henceforth compete for Great Britain, as was his r ...

, Cassar was eligible to represent the United Kingdom as Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and so she holds a British passport.British Overseas Territories
/ref> She is the first athlete from Gibraltar to compete at the Olympic Games. Cassar appeared on 10 August with the rest of Team GB. They came in 12th and failed to make the finals.

References

External links

Georgina Cassar
at British Gymnastics {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassar, Georgina 1993 births Living people British rhythmic gymnasts Gibraltarian gymnasts Olympic gymnasts of Great Britain Commonwealth Games gymnasts for Gibraltar Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Gibraltarian people of Maltese descent Gibraltarian sportswomen Sportspeople from Welwyn Garden City Commonwealth Games competitors for Gibraltar