Philippe Rizzo (born 9 February 1981 in Sydney) is an Australian gymnast and Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. He was the first Australian to win a medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when he won silver on the horizontal bar in Ghent in 2001. He is also the first Australian to win a gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when he won the horizontal bar in Aarhus in 2006.[1]

Philippe Rizzo
Born (1981-02-09) 9 February 1981 (age 43)
Sydney, Australia
HometownCanberra
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Gymnastics career
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
Country representedAustralia
LevelSenior International
ClubAustralian Institute of Sport
Head coach(es)Vladimir Vatkin
Former coach(es)YU BO
Medal record
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aarhus Horizontal Bar
Silver medal – second place 2001 Ghent Horizontal Bar
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2001 Beijing Horizontal Bar
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Pommel Horse
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Parallel Bars
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Horizontal Bar
Silver medal – second place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Team
Silver medal – second place 2002 Manchester All Around
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Team
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Parallel Bars
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester Team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester Floor]]
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne All Around

Rizzo is also a multiple Commonwealth Games gold medalist and has represented Australia at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.

His hobbies include playing the guitar and surfing. Rizzo joined the AIS in 1995. His family is highly involved with gymnastics and runs the Australian Academy of Sport.

Inaugural inductee to University of Canberra Sport Walk of Fame in 2022.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Rizzo claims first gymnastic gold". theage.com.au. 22 October 2006.
  2. ^ "Walk of Fame Members". University of Canberra. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
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