It’s not too long ago that a world-class British gymnast was as rare as a successful English World Cup bid. Once in many decades perhaps a bright spark would appear. But not now. 

Beth Tweddle awoke the nation to gymnastic excellence when she won the world championship on the asymmetric bars in 2006 – she then went on to win the world floor title in 2009 and repeated her uneven bar success this year.  

And she is not alone. England’s Louis Smith provided the sport with another huge breakthrough when he won a bronze medal at the last Olympics, and he aims to do even better in London in 2012. 

And the English stars have now been well and truly joined by a couple of Scots. Danny Keatings, who reached the all-round final at the Beijing Olympics, enjoyed another jaw-dropping GB moment when he won the all-round silver medal at the European Championships in Milan earlier this year.  

Britain also reached new heights in Italy by winning the men’s team gold medal – the line-up included Smith, Keatings and yet another Scot in Daniel Purvis, who added to the medal haul with an individual  European bronze on floor. 

Unfortunately Keatings is currently sidelined by a serious cruciate ligament injury – more of that later – but Purvis has continued to make heady progress since the success in Milan and, just last month, he reached a hugely impressive three finals at the Glasgow Grand Prix at the Kelvin Hall. 

The 20-year-old redhead came closest to taking a medal on the parallel bars – he was fourth – and he thoroughly enjoyed making a rare appearance on a major stage in front of a Scottish crowd.  

“I was really surprised to make three finals. I was tired towards the end of the season, but it was a great two days in Glasgow,” said the Liverpool-born and Southport-based youngster. “My Mum comes from Dundee so I always wanted to compete for Scotland. 

“I started gymnastics when I was seven.  I was pretty useless at football so my parents took me to a class and it just seemed to click pretty well right away.” 

Purvis, who has won the Scottish Championship, is coached by Jeff Brookes at the Lancashire club and is delighted with his progress this year.  

“Winning the team European gold was definitely the highlight,” he reflected. “It means even more when you win with other people. It’s been a long season, but a really good one.” 

As with all of the current crop of stars, Purvis, Keatings and Smith all hope that London 2012 will be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. “It’s not long now until the next Olympics,” beamed Purvis. “I can’t wait. It is going to be so special. 

“We are sure to have a great team and to be able to perform in an Olympic Games in front of a British crowd will be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I feel lucky to have the chance.”  

Keatings, whose main event is the pommel horse, also has a second Olympics firmly in his sights. He trains with Smith under coach Paul Hall at the Huntingdon Club in Cambridgeshire. And the Englishman, who won the pommel horse at the Glasgow Grand Prix, had good news concerning his injured training mate.  

“Danny is doing really well,” reported Smith. “He is back in training and starting to do some dismounts. All he needs s a little more time and he will be back to his best. He should definitely be ready for our defence of the European title in the spring. 

”For all of us, London is the goal. We have a few big events before then, but the clock us ticking fast and the countdown really has begun.”

EB

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