With her bun, perfect toe point and balletic style, Hollie Dykes brings back memories of 1996 Olympic Champion Lilia Podkopayeva. In a Code of Points that seems to only reward hard tricks, Hollie’s truly artistic gymnastics is putting her on the map.

Hollie was born on the Gold Coast of Queensland on September 12, 1990. Her mom took her to the Gold Coast Gymnastics Club for fun when she was four-and-a-half years old, and Hollie was hooked. Coaches quickly noticed Hollie’s natural talent and put her in a group specially geared toward preparing young gymnasts for international competition.

When she was eight, Hollie received an invitation from Ju Ping Tian, then head coach at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra, to train for three months. The Chinese influence helped Hollie’s flexibility, posture and technique. Hollie had another special opportunity when she was 10 years old—she was one of four gymnasts invited to perform an exhibition floor routine during the 2000 Olympic Champions’ Gala.

Hollie appears to be the complete package, and current Australian head coach Peggy Liddick is trying to shield Hollie from the pressures of international gymnastics. Peggy purposefully kept Hollie out of international competitions until 2005. Valery Kolodinsky has been Hollie’s personal coach since 2004. Valery, who also coached Belarus’ Elena Piskun, realizes the key to Hollie’s success will be in keeping her healthy. Valery and Peggy communicate daily regarding Hollie’s progress.

Her coming out party was the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in January of 2005, where she finished second all-around. Months later at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Hollie had her senior debut. Hollie did not compete well. She fell on every event yet managed to win the all-around bronze medal. She bettered that performance about a month later at the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii. She challenged the top two gymnasts in the world, Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin, for the all-around title, but a low-scoring vault gave her the bronze medal.

At her first World Championships in 2006, Hollie helped lead her team to a sixth place finish. She qualified to the all-around final, where she hit all four events and finished seventh.

Hollie’s goal is to make the 2008 Olympics, but she might stick around for the 2012 Olympics in London. She enjoys music and arts and crafts. With the support of her family and coaches, Hollie’s gymnastics career will be an all-around success.