Quick Facts
Biography
Philippe Rizzo (born 9 February 1981 in Sydney), is an Australian gymnast and Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. He was the first Australian to win a medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when he won silver on the horizontal bar in Ghent in 2001. He is also the first Australian to win a gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when he won the horizontal bar in Aarhus in 2006.
Rizzo is also a multiple Commonwealth Games gold medalist and has represented Australia at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.
His hobbies include playing the guitar and surfing. Rizzo joined the AIS in 1995. His family is highly involved with gymnastics and runs the Australian Academy of Sport, one of the most prestigious gyms in the country. While training to become a top gymnast, Rizzo suffered injuries and needed surgery for a fractured elbow and torn ligaments. He has also had a ruptured Achilles tendon and a hip injury.