By Peter Townson/Doha
As British fans prepare to enjoy the Olympic Games this summer, there are a number of local athletes who have already been highlighted as potential medalists. One of those is Beth Tweddle, world champion gymnast and one of the strongest hopes for adding to Team Great Britain’s medal tally in July.Tweddle is in Qatar at the moment, and last night she won the gold medal on parallel bars in the fifth FIG International Artisitc Gymnastics competition. Gulf Times spoke to her earlier this week to find out how she is feeling ahead of the biggest event of her life and the pressure of being a favourite in the Olympics.“I guess there is that pressure there, but there is that pressure wherever we go, the crowds are going to be amazing,” she said, explaining that hosting the World Championships and European Championships in 2009 and 2010 at the O2 arena means that they have had a taste of a competitive atmosphere at the venue.“It’s hard because everybody is getting really excited and team members are starting to get selected, but in gymnastics the team doesn’t actually get selected until July, so it is quite hard, but it is keeping us on our toes,” she stated.Tweddle said that she was delighted with her efforts in Qatar although her routine in qualification proved more pleasing than her final performance. However, she said that she was glad to perform both routines, and she also thanked the British fans who turned out to support her. “We are lucky that we have competitions like this and the European championships to take us away from it, but in the UK and London at the moment, everything is based on the Olympics – every shop you go into there is a bit of merchandise and there is a bit of news on the news every day, so it is quite hard to step away from!” noted the young gymnast.“Training has been going very well, I had a bit of a setback with a calf strain but luckily we have a great medical team that jumped on it straight away and they’ve got me fit, so I’m just working back up to full fitness,” she explained“Everyone’s training seems to be going really well - everyone is just doing their little bit, and hopefully we will have the strongest team we can have out there.”Tweddle also expressed her confidence in the organisers’ work, saying that based on her experience in London, everything seems to be running smoothly.“I’ve been round the Olympic park and saw the village and everything, everything seems to be going fine and so I don’t see any major issues coming through,” she said.The world champion also said that based on her first visit to Qatar, she believes that the country could host the Olympics in the future.“It’s amazing, we are really lucky to be here,” she said, adding “we were saying that they are so lucky to have a venue like this with every sport in one venue, and that would be really nice if you were part of a team to help build team spirit.” As a young woman whose life has been dominated by a commitment to training and developing her skills, Tweddle said that she has learnt a range of life skills through her career.“A lot of people ask what I think I have lost of had to sacrifice, but the honest answer is that I haven’t – sport has taught me so much,” she said, adding “whether its friendship, leadership, making teammates, meeting new people and cultures, travelling the world – sport has taught me so many skills and hopefully I can bring those into the rest of my life.”