Athlete

English

Europa Gym Centre CIC [Crayford, ENG]

His younger brother Ricco has competed in artistic gymnastics at national junior level. (intlgymnast.com, 10 Mar 2018)

In July 2016 he fell from the high bar while training and snapped his posterior cruciate knee ligament, damaged his medial collateral ligament and strained his anterior cruciate ligament. He also suffered a grade two tear in his hamstring and fractured the top of his tibia bone. He required six hours of reconstructive surgery with four metal screws being inserted into his leg. His recovery took 12 months and he then fractured his ankle on his return to training while attempting a vault. He eventually to competitive action in mid 2018. (telegraph.co.uk, 08 Oct 2019; kentonline.co.uk, 22 Jun 2019; thisismoney.co.uk, 20 Jun 2019; Grenade TV YouTube channel, 24 May 2018)

He participated in his first gymnastics session at age three, and began competing in the sport in 2004. (theguardian.com, 21 Jul 2019; zmags.com, 22 Jun 2015; teamgb.com, 28 Aug 2014)

"I started gymnastics because I was just running round like crazy at home. I remember jumping on the rings when I first tried a session and I was swinging and pulled my legs up and flipped over. I remember telling everyone how awesome it was. One of the coaches said to my mother I should try out for their recreational class and, as I was advanced, I made it into that group and it all went from there. It wasn't just the sport I loved, it was the way I felt when I was doing it. Being upside down and not knowing where you are was an adrenaline rush even at that age. Before I knew it, I was training six days a week." (theguardian.com, 21 Jul 2019; zmags.com, 22 Jun 2015; teamgb.com, 28 Aug 2014)

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (thisismoney.co.uk, 20 Jun 2019)

British artistic gymnast Dan Keatings, English footballer David Beckham. (zmags.com, 22 Jun 2015; teamgb.com, 28 Aug 2014)

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." (Instagram profile, 16 Aug 2019)

He was named Young Sportsperson of the Year at the 2014 Great Britain Pride of Sport Awards. (prideofsportawards.co.uk, 03 Dec 2014)

General
RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
He admits that there were times that he thought his gymnastics career was over after he suffered knee ligament damage, tore his hamstring and fractured his tibia bone in 2016 and then fractured an ankle on his return to training a year later. He eventually returned to competitive action in mid 2018. "I was the best junior in Europe and one of the best in the world, but I went from the top to rock bottom. I had to learn to walk again [after the 2016 injury]. It was crazy. I thought it was game over. There were quite a few points where I almost gave it all up. Thankfully, my psychologist helped me through that dark time. She talked me through the process and spoke to me weekly. It was about positive small steps and looking at the bigger picture. We ended up doing a timeline, from time of injury, how I was feeling, what my leg was like and then we'd do it a few weeks later. That went on for a couple of years. I knew that if I gave up, I'd just be a quitter but, if I kept fighting, until I physically could not do any more, at least I could say I tried. I couldn't have quit because I haven't achieved what I want to achieve." (telegraph.co.uk, 08 Oct 2019; theguardian.com, 21 Jul 2019; kentonline.co.uk, 22 Jun 2019; thisismoney.co.uk, 20 Jun 2019; Grenade TV YouTube channel, 24 May 2018; olympic.org, 18 Jul 2017)

RIO BOOST
After his serious injury in 2016 he still attended the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as part of the British Olympic Association's Ambition Programme, an initiative that gives a small number of emerging athletes a chance to experience the Olympic environment. He says that the trip did give him a determination at the time to continue pursuing his sporting dreams. "I went to Brazil on crutches and in a leg brace, but seeing the likes of Max Whitlock win two golds brought out a hunger in me. The injury before Rio had been one of the lowest points of my life but having watched the gymnastics at the Games I said, 'This is my dream right here'. It was the fuel for the fire again." (kentonline.co.uk, 27 May 2021; telegraph.co.uk, 08 Oct 2019)

HERITAGE
He has an Irish father and an Italian mother. (zmags.com, 22 Jun 2015)