Tuesday 02 September 2014
"I have competed many times in Glasgow and the reaction towards the gymnasts is always amazing. The crowds are very supportive and knowledgeable, and that really helps the gymnasts perform to their best. I love Glasgow; it’s always so friendly and the shopping is fabulous so I was really looking forward to the Glasgow 2014 Games.
I arrived in Glasgow on the day of the opening ceremony and was lucky enough to attend it in the evening which was great. I have never been able to go to an opening ceremony during a major championships before because the gymnastics competition itself was always so close to it, and preparation to compete always took priority.
For the first five days I was in Glasgow working as an ambassador for Team England. I had a great time and was able to go out and visit many different sports venues, including those for swimming, table tennis and cycling. I also got a tour around the Commonwealth Village which was a great base for the athletes. During the second week of the Games I was working as part of the BBC Sport team at the SSE Hydro, providing analysis and commentary on the artistic gymnastics competition.
I think the city really lived up to the expectations, perhaps even exceeding them. It was always going to be hard following on from London 2012 but the venue for the gymnastics looked great, the crowds were so supportive and the city itself was buzzing.
All of the GB home nation gymnastics teams performed well and it was so nice to see the Welsh girls pick up the team bronze and the Scottish boys take home the silver, both teams making history! Individually I was really pleased for Daniel Keatings picking up the title on the pommel as this was the hotly contended final between Daniel, Louis and Max. It was always going to be a close call. Daniel has had a couple of disappointing years, missing out on the Olympics in 2012, and he wanted to use this as ‘his Olympics’, so it was great to be in the Hydro and hear Flower of Scotland being played for him. On the girls’ side, I think Claudia gave an outstanding performance. She has really improved this year and she’s definitely grown in confidence since the European Championships in May so she’s really one to watch.
It is really difficult though to pick out individual names for contention at the World Championships in 2015. The teams are so strong and have so much depth that the teams could very well change closer to the time. I really hope to see those who excelled this summer continue to do so. The competition provided by those moving up to senior rank is only going to make the Great Britain team even stronger. We will hopefully reach the goal of qualifying both the Men’s and Women’s teams through to the Rio Olympics 2016 on the back of the performances at the 2015 World Championships, so it’s going to be a really exciting one.
Gymnastics aside, it was great having the opportunity to see so many of the other sports on offer during the Games. I was able to watch swimming, table tennis, rugby 7s, cycling and hockey. I didn't get much time to see the city itself this time around but I love Glasgow; I’ve spent a lot of time in the city and will be returning there a few more times this year.
Those of you who have bought tickets for the 2015 World Championships can expect to see the world’s best gymnasts competing to achieve their dreams and, making it even more special, securing their place to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympics Games. The welcome that you will receive in Glasgow will, as always, be so friendly. The venue for the 2015 WGC is fabulous and the atmosphere will be incredible. I can’t wait!"
Beth Tweddle MBE