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BIOGRAPHY |
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Born December 20, 1977 on Hawaii’s
Garden Isle of Kauai, Sarah Harding discovered her love of athletics
when she started training the sport of gymnastics. After moving
to Oahu to attend Punahou School, Sarah joined gymnastics club
program Gymnastics Academy of Hawaii under the direction of
Paul Kahovec. Flipping and dancing around the gym from the age
of four, Sarah began her competitive gymnastics career. |
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Along with practicing gymnastics,
Sarah danced jazz, tap, and ballet, choreographed acrobatic
dance routines, and competed spring-board diving. By 1994, Sarah
was one of Hawaii’s most decorated gymnasts, earning a
spot on the Junior Olympic National Gymnastics team. Later that
summer, Sarah trained alongside China’s top professional
Beijing gymnasts while conducting language studies at Capital
Normal University through Punahou’s Wo International Program. |
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After her long-time coach, Paul
Kahovec, moved to the mainland later that fall, Sarah switched
Hawaii gymnastics clubs and trained under the direction of Joe
Rapp. With Coach Rapp’s technical expertise and strict
discipline, Sarah won Regional Championships the very next year
and led her team to a successful finish at Level 10 Junior Olympic
Nationals. |
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Sarah began training the sport
of diving her junior year at Punahou, receiving instruction
from Sandi Serai and Olympic Diver, Keala Watson. Because her
gymnastics skills transferred easily to diving, Sarah won the
1996 Hawaii State Championships and earned All-American honors.
By her senior year of high school, Sarah was Hawaii State Champion
in two sports and on her way to Stanford University with a full-ride
athletic scholarship. |
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Sarah’s first introduction
to fitness contests came when she was still in high school.
She was not a fitness competitor, but a fitness choreographer.
Several women who were enrolled in her gym’s recreational
gymnastics class were seeking a choreographer to create their
minute-and-a-half fitness routine. It needed to demonstrate
their strength, flexibility, and endurance. Because Sarah had
choreographed competitive floor routines since the age of 15
and enjoyed composing her own routines, she accepted the challenge
at age 18. Sarah had so much fun choreographing the fitness
routines, she decided that after her gymnastics career concluded,
she might enter a fitness contest or two. |
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