Brotherhood of the BEAM
Purvis and Keatings lay plans to deliver team gold from their base deep in enemy territory
BATMAN had Robin. Rutherford had Laidlaw. This summer, Dan will have… Dan. With 96 days to go until the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, gymnastic hopefuls Dan Purvis and Dan Keatings have their sights locked firmly on a place in the Team Scotland squad, and an opportunity to showcase their talents on home soil.
Though both train south of the border, recently- crowned world champion Purvis and Keatings, a 2013 European champion himself, know exactly what to expect come July 28, when the all-around team and individual gymnastics competitions get underway.
‘My mum’s side of the family is Scottish and it has worked out really well that it’s going to be Glasgow this year,’ said Purvis.
‘It will be my first Commonwealth Games representing Scotland and I’m really looking forward to it. I have a lot of family in Dundee, so that will be great for them to be able to watch me.’
Keatings, meanwhile, has previous with Team Scotland, having worn blue and white at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Growing up, his plan had been to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a kickboxer but, when fighting insurance at the local gym was unavailable to him as a five-year- old, he instead took up gymnastics. And he has never looked back.
The pair have trained alongside one another from an early age and are now based at the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall, Shropshire, where they are joined by fellow Team Scotland and Team England contenders, including Olympic silver medallist Louis Smith.
And, as the countdown to Glasgow 2014 ramps up, both Purvis and Keatings spoke of the friendly rivalry that is developing between athletes f r om t he respective nations.
‘Apart from Dan Purvis and Frank Baines, the rest of them are English, but we are all really good friends,’ Keatings explained. ‘So, going into the Commonwealth Games, there is already a little bit of banter in the gym.
‘We’ve been telling each other who is going to win and there are already little competitions being set up every day. The three Scottish guys will go up on pommel and then the English guys will, and we will compare the scores.’
‘It will be quite fun, I think. We’ve competed against each other while representing GB but never as a split team,’ Purvis added.
‘We all know what each other is capable of, which will be exciting because we all train together. It will be a cool feeling. We can plan tactics, as well, as we know their strengths and weaknesses.’
Both gymnasts are hitting form at the right time with the Games on the horizon. Each performed well at the British Championships in Liverpool at the end of last month, with Purvis picking up silver and Keatings bronze, thanks to personal bests on the pommel horse and parallel bars.
For Keatings, the Commonwealth Games will be a chance for personal redemption. The 24-year-old missed the Olympics in London in 2012 after tearing ankle ligaments just a month before the Games.
He has shown tremendous spirit not only to recover from that injury, but to improve on his already high l evel of performances — and in 2013 he became European champion for the second time in his career.
‘I think the disappointment of missing the Olympics has driven me to get back in the gym, work even harder, and make sure that it doesn’t happen again,’ he said.
‘ When I became European champion again last year it was a huge result for me. It was like I was saying, “Don’t forget about me”, to all of my rivals after being injured in London. It was just huge.’
The wait for Scotland’s first team gymnastics medal at the Commonwealth Games has been a long one, but the quality of the current crop suggests it may soon be over.
Purvis and Keatings, part of a golden era of Scottish gymnasts, believe this summer provides a perfect opportunity to end Scotland’s medal drought. And the allure of a Commonwealth gold is one that weighs heavily on the minds of both, despite the strength of the team from down the road.
‘I think it would be great to get a team medal because Scotland have never been on the podium before,’ said Purvis. ‘I think that it’s a realistic opportunity.
‘ Everyone is i n good shape, there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t win medals.’
‘We want to fight for that gold,’ added Keatings, ‘and off the back of it get some really good results and get a lot of young children in at grass-roots level to improve the sport as a whole for the future.’
To emphasise Scotland’s current strength in the sport, there are 10 athletes competing for just five spots in the team.
The selection process for those places is ongoing, with in-house competitions over the next month deciding which gymnasts get the nod.
‘The gymnasts are so good at the moment that all of us are having to raise our game,’ said Purvis.
He and Keatings praised the i mpact that National Lottery funding has had on their careers, the financial support allowing them to train 30 hours a week and concentrate fully on gymnastics, without having to worry about holding down a full or part-time job.
And are they excited about the prospect of performing in Glasgow in front of their home fans?
‘It’s going to be amazing,’ said Keatings. ‘Scottish people are so patriotic, there is going to be a lot of pride going into that competition. I think, in general, it’s going to be an amazing event.
‘I’ve had my best successes and results in front of a home crowd, so I’m hoping I can repeat that again in Glasgow.’
Purvis added: ‘Dan and I have known each other for years and grown up together, almost.
‘ We’ve had a l ot of historic moments together in gymnastics, so it would be amazing to create another one in Glasgow.’
NATIONAL LOTTERY funding has changed the face of sport in the last 20 years — from grass roots to elite level. to find out more, visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk