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Aussie Junior Has Her Sights Set on the 2010 Olympics

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2004 Australian Junior ladies champion, Phoebe Di Tomasso, is so happy to be back on the ice after being forced to sit out the entire 2005 season with a broken ankle. “It was so frustrating! I really wanted to be out there competing not watching it all on television,” Di Tomasso said. Her ankle injury took months to heal and Di Tomasso describes donning her skates once again and returning to the ice as "weird" initially. “It took about a month for it all [being back on the ice] to feel like normal but now I’m skating better than ever,” she said.

The Brisbane native recently relocated to Sydney to train with coach Elizabeth Cain. “I have worked with Liz before,” Di Tomasso said. “She prepared me for 2004 Nationals where I won my first national title. Becoming the Australian Junior champion qualified me to compete at the 2005 Junior World Championships in Canada. Last December I came down here to perform in a show that Liz was producing and I just decided I wanted to train with her full-time.”

Cain said she has many highlights working with Di Tomasso. “I have every faith in her ability and her commitment to her goals,” she said. “When she competes she always steps up to the levels we have set and she is like a sponge, taking in everything from each competition.” Cain said Di Tomasso is working very hard on landing all of her triples and polishing her programs for the upcoming competitive season. “Her progress and determination are outstanding in my view,” Cain said. “She is an absolute delight to coach and gives 100% of herself to on and off ice training.”

Asked how she felt watching her friend Emily Hughes compete at the 2006 Olympic Games, Di Tomasso said, “It was really exciting! I wouldn’t be surprised if she heard us cheering for her in Italy from our lounge room in Australia.”

Di Tomasso fell in love with the sport when her aunt took her to the 1996 World Junior Championships in Brisbane. “I was 5 years old and I just fell in love with skating,” she said. “I started taking lessons soon after and I have never looked back.”

Off ice training has become an important aspect of Di Tomasso’s training these days. “I am working pretty intensely with John Marsden a fitness professional from the NSW Institute of Sport in Sydney who has created a specific and specialized program for me. I do weight training on Wednesdays and Saturdays and plyometric fitness training on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. And I like to go for a long run once a week.

Her two idols in skating are Sasha Cohen and Fumie Suguri. “I love them both for their grace and technical prowess,” she said. She now trains daily with reigning Australian men's champion, Sean Carlow, which Di Tomasso says is very inspiring.

Di Tomasso will skate to selections from the film “Chicago” for her short program, and “Duel” by Bond for her long program this season. Though she lands many of her triple jumps consistently, Di Tomasso said her edge jumps (loop and Salchow) need work. Her goals this season are to win the New South Wales state title, the national title in August and receive a Grand Prix assignment. Di Tomasso said she hopes to compete at the Olympic Youth Festival scheduled to be held in Sydney in January 2007 and to represent Australia at the 2007 World Junior Championships.

Regardless of her results in the 2006-2007 season, Di Tomasso intends to move into the senior ranks for the 2007-2008 season. She has her sights firmly set on competing at the 2010 Olympics. “My ultimate goal is to represent Australia at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver,” she said.