Liam eager for his own moment in the sun
THE sun was high in the sky and his pals were all swimming and playing outside, but there was only one thing holding the attention of the 9-year-old Liam Davie — and it had nothing to do with being on holiday in Tenerife.
Back in 2002, that young boy’s focus was the TV screen and the events unfolding in Manchester, where gymnast Steve Frew was clinching Commonwealth Games gold in the men’s rings and creating history for Scotland.
Fast forward 12 years and Davie now has the chance to strike gold himself, his selection for Team Scotland at Glasgow 2014 having been confirmed.
‘It was 2002, I was nine and I remember I was in Tenerife at the time watching it,’ says the 21-year-old, who trains within tumbling distance of Games venue The Hydro, at Bellahouston Sports Centre.
‘All the other kids were outside playing and in the swimming pool but I was inside watching the telly and I remember him (Frew) winning the medal and it was a really good moment for Scottish gymnastics. That was the first gold medal we had ever won. It was amazing.
‘Obviously it inspires you to go and do more and it keeps you going in the gym. I want to try to do that, so it did inspire me.
I can’t wait. I just need to do that hard work now but everything is on track.
‘It’s quite exciting but we can’t think about it too much because we still have to put in the hard work. A team medal would be great. That would be amazing because Scotland has never had a team medal before, so to do that, especially in front of a home crowd, would be amazing.
‘My two main strengths are high bar and rings and I am trying to raise the difficulty up on that apparatus because I really want to contribute on these two pieces for the team and maybe try to make a final as well, maybe in the high bar.
‘I am trying to focus on the other pieces as well in case anything happens to the top three guys and I need to step up and produce a good performance for the team.’