Georgina Cassar (born 9 September 1993) is a Gibraltarian/British rhythmic gymnast. She represented Gibraltar at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in

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and competed for Team GB at the

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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 movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...

to Maltese father Franco and English mother Jackie. The family settled in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

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 2010 Commonwealth Games in

. 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 ...

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 Team GB at the

. She could not represent her native

because the Gibraltar Olympic Committee is not recognised by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

; however, using a similar by-law to

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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 gr ...

er Shara Proctor and Turks and Caicos Islander Delano Williams, Cassar was eligible to represent the United Kingdom as Gibraltar is a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

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 for Great Britain Commonwealth Games gymnasts for Gibraltar English people of Maltese descent 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 People educated at King Edward's School, Bath