Gymnastics superstar in the making

Tallica Trousselot is not your usual five-year-old - she can hang upside down from her bedroom wall unit while doing the splits.

After only six months of gymnastics, the Rockingham youngster has been labelled a superstar by her coaches.

Tallica's mother, Deanna Trousselot, said her daughter was born athletic.

"She was doing one-handed cartwheels when she was three and four and everywhere she went she would do them, and people would always say to me you have to put her into gymnastics," she said.

"So we enrolled her at Stellar Gym Sports in Port Kennedy when she was four in October last year."

After a few classes, Mrs Trousselot said coaches told her they were going to run some training tests with Tallica.

"Coaches found her skills were too advanced for the regular classes," she said.

So Tallica was sent to train in the gymnastic team at the Western Australian Institute of Sport.

She is now training in level 8, a stage ahead of other children her age at WAIS, twice a week, focusing on strength and conditioning and learning how to use each individual muscle.

Former coach Shanelle Duffy said Tallica was a "bright spark".

"She was very similar to another young girl I sent up to WAIS; I've only ever sent two there," she said.

"She has super strength for her age and clicks on to instructions really quick."

Miss Duffy said Tallica was picking up movements faster and well above her age level.

"I was gobsmacked when I found out how old she was, because she was taking information in at such a high level.

"My students were seven-year-olds at the time and she was only four years old.

"She is very talented."

Miss Duffy said Tallica was already doing State competitions this year and when she was older she could work towards national competitions, international, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

"It is hard to say when she is so young, but there is no reason to say she couldn't go all the way," she said.

Tallica said she enjoyed gymnastics because she could jump high and learn lots of fun moves.

"I like going on the trampoline and going on the bars and the beams," she said.