Gymnasts go for gold as team swings into action
FOUR Glasgow gymnasts have set off on a 10,211-mile journey to the Gold Coast in a bid to become Commonwealth champions.
The team from the City of Glasgow Gymnastics Club boarded their flight yesterday for a 24-hour journey to Australia where they will begin their battle to bring home gold.
For three of group, it’s their first time competing on a world stage and the anticipation is building.
Shannon Archer, 19, is among the group heading to Oz. She told the Evening Times: “It’s going to be a completely different experience to the junior games.
“We’re more excited than anything else. We train six days a week, our routines are quite solid and we’ve got a good team so I’m feeling confident – but I’m sure the nerves will kick when we’re about to go on.”
Fellow teammates 20-yearold Cara Kennedy, Kelvin Cham and David Weir, both 19, are also eager to feel the warm Australian air and hear the cheering crowds.
But what they’re about to experience hasn’t quite sunk in yet for all of them, with Paisley resident Cara the only member of the group to have competed at the Commonwealth Games previously during Glasgow’s 2014 event. Kelvin, who is also from Paisley, said: “I can’t wait but it’s still a bit surreal. I’ve never done any of this before so I can’t wait to get to the games and the athletes village.
“Mostly, I’m looking forward to competing with my team. You watch these team events on TV and watch their teammates cheer them on from the side and I’m looking forward to having that because we’re all really close and having them there to urge you on really helps.”
While Cara admits there are “a lot of great teams” following in their Australia bound footsteps, the group joke there is no one they’re afraid to face when the games kick off.
Kelvin added: “We just need to focus on our own team and what we know we can do, then we will be fine.”
It’s a mentality proud head performance coach Rod Smith hopes the team will take forward when they make their debut at the games, which last from April 4 to 15.
He said: “They’ve done a fantastic job, we’re really proud of them. They’ve done all the hard work, now it’s just about channelling that.
“It’s about giving them that experience and then when they get back they’ll have some down time and it’ll be back to training.
“It’s going to be a fantastic experience.”