Brock Batty’s journey to the Paris Olympics as a trampoline gymnast began with a backyard trampoline in Frankston, jumping for fun and teaching himself flips. “I was getting better and better on my backyard trampoline, and then Mum decided it would be a good idea to sign me up for a club and learn how to do it all safely and properly, and it all took off from there,” said Brock.
Brock’s mum signed him up for the Cheltenham Youth Club, which, he says, has been, “Awesome. The coaching, the staff; I honestly wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.” Brock and his coach plan out his routines together. He will take five to Paris.
Ivan Litvinovitch from New Zealand is his role model. Brock admires how Ivan lives a very balanced lifestyle. “There’s a lot more to his life than just trampoline,” Brock says. “He’s into a lot of other things and is just a good person all round. It’s something I really value and try to work on a lot.”
To balance his life, Brock combines training and school with spending time with family and friends, teaching himself new things like golf and going surfing and fishing. They keep his mind fresh.
“I notice that if I go away on a big trip – sometimes it two world cups back-to-back – when I get back, and it’s two weeks into training, you lose motivation and go flat, and it becomes too much. When things are pretty intense, that’s when I’ve found that those hobbies are most important for me.”
Brock is in year 11 at Frankston High and says that keeping up is not as easy as it was. However, he only finds it really difficult when he goes overseas for a competition. “When I come back, I really notice I’ve missed a fair bit, but it’s nothing too major, and I’m able to catch up on it all.”
When it was announced that he was going to the Olympics, Brock’s teachers and classmates gave him a surprise party. “It was awesome to feel the support of everyone.”
So far, Brock has competed in Germany, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, Bulgaria, and England and names Switzerland and Portugal as his favourites.
How does international travel affect him?
“I struggle a bit getting over there and to stay awake for those first couple of days. Compared with everyone else, it takes me a bit longer to adjust. It takes me a couple of nights and then I’m getting a normal sleep.”
Brock is excited to be going to Paris. It’s his the first time competing in the Olympics, and at seventeen, he’s also set the record for the youngest male ever to compete in trampoline gymnastics in the world. “It’s a dream come true. It’s everything I’ve been training for,” he says. He wasn’t nervous in the lead-up to the games since he couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like, but he is sure excitement and nerves will kick in while he’s competing.
Brock knows what it is to overcome adversity. In the 2022 World Championships, in the move he specialises in, and which is in the Olympics, he fell off in both routines.
“I had trained really hard and had goals I wanted to achieve and to see it go like that was devastating. These experiences are not the most enjoyable moments of your life, but you do learn a lot. It can shift the way you see your sport a little bit: what pre-comp routine can work better for you? And you can learn what you did right, too.”
“At seventeen, Brock set the record for the youngest male ever to compete in trampoline gymnastics in the world”.
“A lot of trampoline competing is mental. Obviously, the physical aspect is there, and you have to put the hard work into training, but once you’re actually competing, then it becomes mental. It’s an ongoing journey, and you learn how to handle these emotions better.”
Brock put this wisdom to work in 2023 and won gold in his age group in the World Championships. “That was awesome; the best moment of my life. When I saw my name at the top of the leaderboard, I felt a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.” Brock’s hard work and persistence paid off this year when the Sport Australia Hall of Fame awarded him a tier 2 scholarship.
If not this year in Paris, Brock is certain he’ll win gold at an Olympic Games one day. At seventeen, there will be many more opportunities. He describes Paris as “The first of many Games, hopefully.”
Games and competing aside, Brock has plans for the future. “It’s something my coach and I are big on; who I am without sport. It would be cool to still work in sports, to work with athletes, whether it’s as a strength conditioning coach, a nutritionist, or a psychologist, helping athletes get better and achieve goals. I feel that’s something that fits my values.”
Brock’s advice to other young people who want to compete at an elite level? “You’ve got to do it because you love it. If you do, it makes waking up every day and giving a hundred percent of your effort so much easier. Enjoy the journey rather than it being all about the end goal; to do something that you love rather than have to do it. Then, you’re on the right track to becoming whoever you want to be.”
What is Brock looking forward to doing in Paris away from the trampoline? “I haven’t done too much research about Paris. I’ve never been before, but obviously I’m looking forward to seeing the Eiffel Tower. Someone asked me the other day what French food I’m going to try, and all I really know is baguettes and snails,” he laughs.
Brock says not being in the city has never been a disadvantage. He trains at the Cheltenham Youth Club and in the city and appreciates that it’s only around an hour by public transport to the city from Frankston. He describes Frankston as “the perfect spot.”