In August 2023 during a pre-season training session at Keyworth United football club I was involved in a collision that led to an all too familiar trip to the Queens medical centre hospital in Nottingham. An investigation into the shoulder and neck pain I was experiencing began. After multiple scans and an Arthogram the shoulder specialist revealed I had full thickness tears in three of my shoulder tendons and recommended shoulder surgery to fix them. I chose not to operate at the time but last week once again I ended up in A&E unable to move my neck. And this is my story.

In 2023 at the Artistic gymnastics World championships Team USA took the bronze medal in the men's final. They are now favourites to finish on the podium at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this summer for the first time since taking bronze at the Beijing games in 2008. Individually their squad is incredible strong and the impressive comeback after multiple knee surgeries in 2023 by Brody Malone to be crowned the US National champion last week surprised the gymnastics community. With the likes of Fred Richard, Khoi Young, Yul Moldauer, Asher Hong, Shane Wiskus, Donnell Whittenburg and Paul Juda all hoping to make the Olympic team. It's going to be a classic American dog fight. Today I'm joined by Kensley Behel the brilliant human being behind the neutral deductions social media channel that follows the world of men's gymnastics. And this is our story.

In 2010 Luke Folwell made history becoming then most successful British gymnast at a Commonwealth Games winning five medals for team England in Delhi. Luke competed for Great Britain at the highest level and was start of the World championships team in 2007 that took the first steps towards the incredible success we see today from British men's gymnastics teams. He now plays a key role in that continued success and was part of the coaching team that supported the athletes who recently claimed the junior European title for the first time since 2016. Luke has experienced both sides of the sport. And this is his story.

In June 2024 my current coaching role at the Notts Gymnastics Academy is coming to an end. I've now been coaching gymnastics for three years and I'm in process of working towards my level 3 qualification. The opportunity to work alongside Josh Champion, who I consider to be my coaching mentor has been invaluable during that time. I have made mistakes, learnt some incredible life lessons and experienced real joy in my young coaching journey so far. I hope to continue learning and developing as a coach moving forward. And this is my story.

In the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games the Russian Olympic Committee edged out Japan to claim the men's gymnastics team title. With Russia being shut out of the Olympic movement and the Japanese team being the reigning World champions. They are firm favourites heading into the Paris 2024 Games taking place this summer. Following the All Japan championships and the NHK trophy the five men that will represent Japan have now been selected. In this episode of the podcast I chat all things Japanese gymnastics and Paris 2024 predictions with Katherine Mills. The amazing lady behind MAGnastics a social media channel dedicated solely to men's gymnastics who recently travelled to Japan to watch the All Japan event. And this is our story.

In May 2024 I was asked to be part of the Team England Men's gymnastics training camp at Lilleshall national sports centre. I was incredibly impressed with the level of gymnastics and how professionally the weekend was put together. I had the opportunity to share my experiences in gymnastics with a group of 30 hardworking and positively minded young athletes. At 2AM whilst feeding Ozzy I began to think about the information and advice that would have helped me as a teenager with ambitions of competing at the highest level. I focussed on five key areas: Recovery, nutrition, mindset, confidence and preparation. And this is my story.

In 2021 at the Tokyo Olympic Games Amelie Morgan made history alongside her team mates by winning the first women's team medal in 93 years. She had an outstanding junior career taking five medals at the 2018 junior European championships and three medals at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Amelie home schooled as a teenager in order to maintain her 35 hour a week training schedule. Balancing her education alongside her gymnastics eventually led to her accepting a full sports scholarship to study and compete for the university of Utah in 2021. In the past week she has announced her retirement from elite gymnastics and subsequently withdrawing herself from the Paris 2024 Olympic selection process. And this is her story.

In April 2024 many of the best gymnasts in the world competed nationally, internationally and globally in their preparations for the Paris Olympic Games. At the European Championships in Rimini the British junior men took the team final in dramatic fashion for the first time since 2016. In the senior event the Ukrainian team edged out GB scoring 255.762 which impressively would have taken the team title at the 2023 World Championships. The British team produced an incredibly professional performance hitting eighteen routines and taking two individual apparatus gold medals. In the NCAA finals Stamford claimed their fifth title in a row and Asher Hong, Fred Richard and Khoi Young were the standout performers producing some exceptional gymnastics. The final individual Olympic apparatus spots were confirmed following the World Cup event in Doha and in Japan the reigning Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto scored an incredible 88 average all around over two days. And this is my story.