If it wasn’t for gymnastics – and a small miracle – Chloe Crump reckons she’d still be visiting hospital every couple of months for a chronic lung disease.

Instead, she hasn’t been to hospital in a year. And her passion for gymnastics, as witnessed by the bruises on her shins and the gymnast Jibbitz on her Crocs – will see her compete in the Zespri Aims Games for the first time.

“I’m doing things I never thought I’d be able to do,” the Year 7 Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu correspondence school student from Tauranga said.

Chloe has always loved climbing and running, and taught herself how to do backbends. She remembers running out of class and doing cartwheels in the field.

But a chronic lung disease called bronchiectasis and asthma make some things more difficult for the autistic 11-year-old, who is still a month away from turning 12.

As well as a period of hospital admissions every other month for her lungs, she has a portacath on the side of her diaphragm, and has had around 21 general anaesthetics relating to the illness.

Things began to turn two and a half years ago when she went to a private gymnastics session at Tauranga’s Argos Gymnastic Club – where this week’s tournament will be – with her friends from Correspondence School.

Starting gymnastics “was like a dream come true”, she said, after being interested for years.

The noise and chaos – which was overstimulating for her autism – as well as her anxiety and confidence held her back until this point.

Now, she’s doing round-off backhand springs, backflips, kips and bars.

Gymnastics quietens her usually-racing mind and has improved her anxiety.

“Flipping just keeps my mind off of everything.”

Last year, she set her mind on getting to Aims Games, aiming to train daily at home and twice a week at her private lessons.

Her advice to others was to keep going and believe in yourself: “If you don’t fail, you’re not trying.”

Chloe said the improvement in her health and no hospital admissions in a year was a little miracle, which she and her mum credited to the sport.

Her mum, Rachel, said gymnastics “has helped her health a lot, to the point where her respiratory doctors think her bronchiectasis has gone, it’s improved so much”.

Chloe still has follow-ups for her asthma and injections every four weeks for it.

Rachel said it’s “been amazing” and she couldn’t be more proud.

She said Tauranga’s Argos Gymnastic Club ran adaptive and private lessons, with amazing coaches, which really helped.

“I didn’t think she’d be able to participate in Aims Games,” her mum said, with a beaming smile.

“Her gymnastics has come along so far. Some things take a little bit longer for her to get the hang of but she works so hard.”

She said Chloe’s confidence has grown “hugely” and she was looking to trial group classes.

“She’s pretty tough. She should be so proud of how far she’s come.”

The Zespri Aims Games is an annual week-long sports tournament for intermediate-aged students from around New Zealand and overseas.

A record 395 schools have entered across the 27 sporting codes, stretching from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island, as well as international schools from the Cook Islands and Fiji.

It has been 20 years since the first ever Aims Games and this year there are nearly 13,000 young athletes competing - more than the Paris 2024 Olympics.

- SunLive