US Super Coach to take control of Australia's Women's Gymnastics Team

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON MIHAI BRESTYAN

Gymnastics Australia has confirmed the appointment of leading international coach Mihai Brestyan to the position of Women’s National Coach.Currently based in the United States, Mihai Brestyan has overseen the rise of US superstar Aly Raisman, a winner of three Olympic gold medals and Alicia Sacramone, an Olympic silver medallist.The President of Gymnastics Australia, Sam McKay, said the appointment of Mihai Brestyan comes at an exciting moment for the sport in Australia.‘’Australian Gymnastics took a major step forward with the recent success of the World Cup event in Melbourne and we are looking to build on that momentum. We are thrilled a coach with the experience and proven results of Mihai will be guiding our next generation of gymnasts and coaches as we look towards the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast next year and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and beyond.’’Gymnastics Australia CEO, Mark Rendell said the organisation had been determined to secure a coach of international standing.‘’The recruitment process has been lengthy, but Gymnastics Australia was clear in its objective of securing a world best coach to drive performance standards of Australian athletes and coaches to be internationally competitive.’’The Romanian-born Brestyan is a world-renowned and a world-class coach with proven Olympic success having taken US athletes to podium performances at the past three Olympic Games.Brestyan has been tasked with leading the strategic direction for women’s gymnastics in Australia and to build sustained international success. He will work specifically with Australia’s Senior and Junior National Squad Athletes via National camps hosted at the Australian Institute of Sport.Mihai Brestyan will commence his new role immediately, and is keen to build the profile of gymnastics across Australia.“This is a new chapter and an exciting challenge. I’m looking forward to sharing my learnings and experiences with the athletes and coaches in Australia and guiding women’s gymnastics to a leading gymnastics nation,’’ he said.Mihai Brestyan is in Australia for the next 10 days to meet with Gymnastics Australia staff, coaches and athletes and to visit the daily performance environment of our high performance centres and clubs.Accolades include:- Master of Sport award for their expertise in gymnastics by USA Gymnastics (USAG).- USAG Coach of the Year for 2005, 2011 and 2013.- Best Junior Olympic gymnastics program in the U.S. by USAG in 2013.Club owner in the US - http://www.brestyans.com/ Brestyan's has more than 17 competitive girls and boys teams in the United States. It is one of the most successful gyms in the US with its athletes winning a combined 21 World and Olympic medals. Established in 2000, Brestyan's has won 56 team state championship titles.Mihai, with his wife, Silvia Brestyan opened the doors to Brestyan’s Gymnastics Club in 2000. Over a coaching career spanning 40 years he has coached national teams in Romania, Israel and the United States.Under their guidance, Brestyan’s has produced countless State and Regional individual and team champions at every level and is recognized as a USAG National Team Training Center.At the Elite International level, Mihai and Silvia coached Alicia Sacramone and Aly Raisman at six World Championships and the Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016) Olympic games, winning a combined 21 individual and team medals for the US.Brestyan’s has also been recognised as the best Junior Olympic gymnastics program in the U.S. by USAG in 2013. Mihai and Silvia were further honoured with the Master of Sport award for their expertise in gymnastics by USAG and were both also named Junior Olympics Coaches of the Year for Region 6 in 2006 and 2007.Mihai was additionally recognized nationally as the USAG Coach of the Year for 2005, 2011 and 2013. He was a member of the permanent U.S. Women’s National Team coaching staff and is considered the floor exercise expert. In addition to coaching Alicia and Aly individually at countless events, Mihai has represented the U.S. as team head coach at the 2010 and 2015 World Championships. Mihai also travels internationally and conducts lectures on the development of gymnastics as an ambassador for USAG and the FIG in conjunction with his annual lectures at the USAG National Congress.Mihai was the guest WAG presenter for the FIG Level 3 Academy program held in Canberra, December 2014.