‘Sports fever’ has descended on Brisbane with young athletes adding the rings to their dream board since the announcement of the 2032 games.

Amidst the fray one world-class athlete is making sure his sport isn’t overlooked by the next generation of Australian Olympians.

Suhail Al Kurdi was a champion gymnast in his home country of Syria. Now sharing his skills with young Queenslanders as a gymnastics coach at Y Stafford, the results are putting these children on their own podiums.

“To me, gymnastics is the mother sport of all sports. Gymnastics gives you coordination, strength, flexibility, agility—all the requirements for the body to succeed,” said Suhail.

What started as an activity to get him “out of his mother’s hair” at the age of 5 has turned into a lifelong passion that has seen Suhail compete on a world stage for his country from the age of 16 and receive fitness accreditations in multiple countries.

“I moved to Australia because I wanted to live in a country where I felt safe and had rights, where you never feel out of place or isolated,” Suhail shared.

“In Syria, because of the war, we didn’t have big dreams. Every time I competed I just wanted it to be my best routine. At the Y gym I want to encourage my students to dream bigger because they can in Australia.

“Joining the Y Stafford team, I want to use my experience and background to expand and grow a thriving competitive program as well as a recreational program for the young athletes.”

While Australia has produced some of the strongest swimmers, cyclists and rowers in the world, when it comes to gymnastics it only has one silver medal to its name from the Sydney games.

Suhail is on a mission to help grow that medal tally, empower young people and simultaneously tackle the stigma around young men in gymnastics.

According to AusPlay’s 2023 Report, only 3 in 10 under 14-year-olds participating in gymnastics are boys—with the majority of male participants giving up after the age of 8.

“Even though I experienced bullying for my sport, my passion never wavered. It taught me strength, resilience, and confidence—which I want to share with my students,” said Suhail.  

Oliver, aged 6, is one of Suhail’s students and has been attending Y Stafford Gymnastics lessons for 3 months. As a young person with diagnosed anxiety, ADHD, and a language disorder, Oli has struggled with negative self-talk and being his authentic self when outside his family home.

“From the very first session, Suhail—or ‘Mr Hail’, as Oli and his friends call him—made Oli feel seen, heard, safe and willing to attempt new things and integrate with the class,” Oli’s mum, Kirra, said.

“It has been amazing to not only see his technical ability increase in the short time with Mr Hail, but also see him become himself.

“Due to his anxiety, Oli is constantly masking in stressful environments which is hard to watch. But at the Y he is his most authentic self. After every session he comes home and gushes about his achievements and what he has done well, which he was never able to do before.”

Recently Oli’s Men’s Artistic Gymnastics team competed for the first time against renowned gymnastics clubs in the region. Not only did Oli participate, but he took out third overall. Gymnastics has always been an outlet for Suhail to build resilience and self-confidence—an outlet that has been passed on to students like Oli.

For Suhail, the real gold medal is the empowerment and good health gymnastics brings to his students.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re training for a competition or the Olympics. My students train for themselves first, and let their passion guide them from there,” he said.

About Y Queensland

Y Queensland, formerly trading as YMCA Queensland, has been working in local communities across the state since 1864. The Y is a vibrant, active community organisation, that seeks to make a positive difference by providing each and every person with the opportunity to be healthy, happy and connected.

In, the Y provides a wide range of services tailored to the needs of the communities it serves. These services include, but are not limited to, gymnastics, aquatics, fitness, youth programs, child care & early education, outdoor education & camping, vocational education & accredited training. Visit the website for more information.