As she gears up for a coveted ‘one’ spot, she has also been supporting her mum Miranda Cobb who has breast cancer.

Reece Cobb, aged 17, is currently ranked New Zealand #1 senior international gymnast for the second year in a row, 2023 Gymnast of the Year and second in Oceania.

Recently returning from the France World Cup Challenge and World Championships in Belgium, where she competed against Simon Biles, Reece faced getting on a plane knowing her mum had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.

She had to return promptly from the competition to support her mum who underwent an urgent mastectomy.

Miranda Cobb, Reece’s mum, says the timing couldn’t have been worse for her breast cancer discovery.

“There is never a good time to hear you have cancer, but given Reece was about to compete with the world’s best gymnasts, I was worried my diagnosis might affect her form,” says Miranda.

“However, she has a very strong mindset and was very brave, we were proud of her achievements in France and Belgium.”

Other recent achievements by Reece include:

- CSG Classic 2022 - first place all round 
- Gymnastics - Southland Champs 2022 
- 1st place all round - Gymnastics 
- Nominated by Gymnastics New Zealand for Commonwealth Games 2022 Endeavour Award 2022, which is awarded to the gymnast who achieves the highest average score across all apparatus in a Senior International Level all round competition 
- Gymnastics World Cup Berlin - 10th on bar, ninth on floor 
- World Champs in Liverpool October 2022 
- Third overall all round Oceaniana championships 2022 

In early 2024 there will be a series of four world cup events that Reece will compete at which also act as the qualification events to the Paris Olympic Games. These are held in Germany, Egypt, Doha and Azerbaijan. Athletes earn ranking points at these events to determine who qualifies for the Olympics.

Miranda says Reece is now completely focussed on getting that one WAG - women’s artistic gymnastic - spot for New Zealand.

“I’m proud of Reece, her excellence in her sport is through a culmination of years of sacrifices, hard work, and unrelenting dedication,” says Miranda.