Louis Smith Clare Balding Meets


Louis Smith

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With the Olympics fast approaching, I've been catching up with some of the leading medal hopefuls

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from Team GB - the men and women you will be urging on to gold.

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And today, I've come to the Huntingdon Gymnastics Club

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to meet Britain's most decorated male gymnast.

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Louis Smith became the first British gymnast since 1928

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to win an Olympic medal when he claimed bronze in Beijing.

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He followed that up with a memorable silver at London 2012,

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before deciding to take a two-year break away from the sport.

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Barring a slip at this year's European Championships,

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his return has been remarkable.

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A silver medal at the 2015 World Championships

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and a gold in the 2015 European Championships

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confirmed that Louis has a realistic chance

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of being crowned Olympic champion in Rio.

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'I want to find out what drew Louis back into gymnastics...'

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I saw gymnasts competing and winning medals

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that I thought I could still beat.

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And if I can still put on a Union Jack and still win medals,

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you know, I have a duty to do that.

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'..the extreme levels he's prepared to go to to achieve success...'

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When I had a blister, my coach told me to wee on it.

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'..and most crucially, I'm here to discover

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'if he can turn London's silver medal into gold in Rio.'

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I know if I do the routine that I've been training,

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there can always be a chance of a gold medal.

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So, why here, Louis?

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I've been here since I was about six, seven years old.

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I've got a great relationship with my coach,

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you know, I'm just entwined. It's like, part of my DNA

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to be part of this club. I just love being here, I love training,

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I get my best work done here.

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And do you spend more time here than you actually do at your house?

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This is pretty much my base of operations.

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I only really go home to sleep and eat

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and everything else that happens is here.

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I heard that you had a room...

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like a bedroom, that was very Harry Potter inspired.

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I'm a massive Harry Potter fan.

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I'd go as far as saying I'm a Harry Potter geek.

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And I was really getting into my training with kind of getting ready for Rio,

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had the British Championships, lots of competitions coming up,

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lots of distractions, my friends were going out, lots of my friends were going out partying and stuff...

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and I wanted something that would keep me, at home, chilled.

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So, I started building a Harry Potter room.

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And why not? Like, you only live once.

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Is it a Gryffindor room or is it...? How it is a Harry Potter...?

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Yeah, I'm a Gryffindor.

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So I went on Potterheads and you fill out a little questionnaire

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and you find out what house you would be in.

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Turns out I'd be in Gryffindor.

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I just bought my nephew, the other day, one of those little books,

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you know, notebooks and there's a Gryffindor one.

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-Yeah, I've got one.

-Have you? CLARE LAUGHS

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-My nephew's eight.

-That's all right. I'm nearly 28 but

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-doesn't matter.

-Yeah, exactly. This is a lifelong passion.

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It's the child within, and it's important to keep yourself young.

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Oh, yeah, I love Harry Potter.

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If I get married, my wife needs to be a Harry Potter fan.

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If she lies to me and then tells me on my wedding day

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that she's not, I would call it off.

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You see, at the moment, your chances of getting married are quite slim.

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Because...

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-Why?

-Well, haven't you said no girlfriends before...?

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Oh, yeah, but after Rio, you know, it's back on.

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-It's like a...you know, flick the switch...

-OK.

-..and get back out there.

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What, you change your status - "available"?

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Pretty much, yeah. Like, with gymnastics and Olympics and sport,

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you have to be very single-minded

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and your first priority needs to be sport. Well, mine is, I don't know about other people.

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Erm... So gymnastics will always come first, you know,

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and past girlfriends sometimes got that.

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But the future, you know, when gym's done,

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-then I can start putting...

-Yeah.

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Then a girlfriend could come second to Harry Potter. I mean, wow.

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Pretty much, yeah, if she's happy with that.

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Would you say that you are an introvert or an extrovert?

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I'd say I'm a bit of both, to be honest.

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I have a fun personality, I like to be out there doing things, meeting people.

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But at the same time I like to go home to my house,

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shut my gate and just spend some quality time just relaxing.

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And how do you get yourself ready for the performance

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that is required at any major championships

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and to be in that frame of mind?

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What do you do to make yourself Louis Smith, the performer?

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I take a lot of confidence from training.

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I like to do enough training in this gym

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that when I go to competition,

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I'm 95% sure I'm going to do my routine the way I know I can,

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which allows me, then, to be as natural as I can.

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So normally when I go to competitions, I'm fun,

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I'm talking to some of the competitors

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and they're like, "How is he so chilled and talking,

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"like, moments before we're about to march out?"

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And I think that probably gets in their heads

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but I'm so confident that I can be like that.

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So the confidence is not a suit that you wear,

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it's something that is created by the hours you've done in here.

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Precisely, yeah.

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And I think that's so important to have -

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I think for any high-level athlete,

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to be confident,

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it needs to be backed up by the preparation that you've done in training.

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And I just feel good, I know that I'm going to go through my routine,

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and I think people can pick up on that as well.

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What makes you smile?

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When I take a step back and I realise where I've come from,

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you know, what my mum's done for me,

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it makes me smile to know that everything's all right.

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I'm happy, I'm healthy,

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I enjoy what I do,

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I love my friends, I love my family, I love my job.

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You know, so erm... Yeah, that's what makes me smile.

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So actually, essentially, it's making your mum proud...

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-I hope so.

-..in all of that, that you've done,

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you've achieved that, which is an amazing thing to know you've done.

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It's funny, as you get older you start to realise more

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the sacrifices that your parents make in life,

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and to look back and see what my mum's done for me,

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you know, it makes me emotional.

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So, it's nice to be able to give something back to her.

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Have you been able to give her any kind of special presents or treats?

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I would love... Do you know what, I would love to be able to buy her a house,

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mortgage free, that she can live in.

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Unfortunately, gymnasts don't have the deepest pockets,

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but I just bought her a new car

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cos her car pretty much clapped out.

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And it's nice to be able to do something like that.

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It's amazing actually seeing the mums bring their kids in here,

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thinking that's what she did with you, you know, 23 years ago...

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-Mmm.

-..to sort of deal with you - bring you here, keep you busy.

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Yeah, I was a handful when I was young.

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I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was seven. I was off the walls

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and my attention span was, you know, two minutes.

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But when I was in the gym,

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my attention span was so much longer than that and I was so intrigued with sport.

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Is ADHD something that, as you grow older,

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becomes less a part of your psychological make-up

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or is it always there?

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There's aspects of it that you learn to deal with.

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There's things like impulsiveness,

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that can sometimes get you in trouble when you're young.

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As you start to get older you start to realise -

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"Take a step back, breathe -

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"should I do this or should I do this?"

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and you start to take a bit more responsibility for your actions.

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But there are aspects that you struggle to deal with -

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organisation, preparation, being on time, punctuality, things like that.

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You're 27 now, yes?

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Yeah.

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Physically, how are you?

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HE LAUGHS

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Physically, I'm as well as a 27-year-old gymnast can be.

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I train three hours a day, five days a week.

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I'm not as in good a shape as I was in 2012

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in terms of how my body feels.

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The performance side of things, you know, my routine is more difficult.

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I'm having to focus a lot more on my diet, my recovery, physio,

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all that, massage. All the things that protect me. Erm...

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I definitely have to focus on a lot more now.

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But when you wake up in the mornings, do things just feel a bit achy?

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Yeah. Achy's an understatement.

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Oh! I have to do stretches for my back.

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Sometimes, reaching to the bottom of the drawer, I can feel...

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I feel my nerves go in my back

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and I have to take things a bit slower. It's, erm...

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You definitely feel it as you're getting older.

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So, for male gymnasts, what is the...? Your peak years are when?

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23.

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22, 23.

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Er... I think you can keep that peak for a while,

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but you're certainly probably not going to start improving at that age.

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But, 27-year-olds have won gold medals

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at Olympic Games in gymnastics.

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27-year-olds have won Olympic golds

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that are controversial, yeah, you're right.

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Yes, I now touch upon a sore point.

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Explain.

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Er...so, yeah, Krisztian Berki was 27, London Olympic Games

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pommel horse final.

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Very, very good final.

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I can't knock him. It was a great final to be in.

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I'm happy with my performance, you know, getting a silver medal.

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But, yeah, scoring the same score, and seeing the countback rule

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and, you know, watching the gold go to him, it was...

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It was hard, I'm not going to lie.

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But, yeah, 27 years old, so, yeah, he's proved it is possible.

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It's interesting, we can hear the kids in the background there.

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They're starting to do their thing next door.

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How aware are you when you come here

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and there might be 20, 30 little children,

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that they look to you as more than just a gymnast

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who's won Olympic medals -

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they want you to behave in a certain way, be a certain thing?

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It's definitely something that took me by surprise -

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I think it first started after the Beijing Olympic Games, 2008,

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and it was very hard adapting to that.

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Because I went from being a young, reckless kid with ADHD

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to suddenly, "You're a role model." Tighten yourself up."

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And now I embrace it, I enjoy it -

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I go to schools, I talk to kids.

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I try and get across the importance of how sport can change your life.

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And I especially like talking to kids that are troubled,

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kids that perhaps don't have the same opportunities as some people out there.

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Because I was a similar situation, you know, bad area, rough area.

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It could have quite easily have gone another way.

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And there isn't anything too flashy about gymnastics.

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You're going to pull your own mats into certain areas,

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you're going to move your own kit.

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Nobody's doing it for you and saying, "OK, now it's your turn."

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Yeah. I mean, you should stay till the end of the session

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where you have to get the hoovers out,

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and hoover up the chalk that we spill everywhere, so...

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Yeah, I mean, this is where the hard work goes down.

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It isn't a multi-million-pound centre,

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we don't have money being thrown at us left, right and centre.

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We have to work for every single result that we get.

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We appreciate every part of sponsorship

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and help that we get along the way.

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But it literally is blood, sweat and tears in this gym.

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You deliberately train away from the rest of Team GB. Why?

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Because I know what I need to do. Erm...

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You know, a lot of the Team GB guys now are made up

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of younger, hungrier guys,

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they're all in competition with each other.

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When they go to squads, everyone's stepping up the mark

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and everyone's challenging each other.

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That's good, but it's not an environment that I need to be in.

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I like to work at my own pace.

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I don't feel like I need to be pushed by anyone,

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I know what I need to do.

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Me and my coach have a programme. We follow it.

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I get in, I do my training, I leave. I don't do any unnecessary hours.

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I don't push myself to try and be better than the next person.

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So I'm just going to work on my own performance, in my gym,

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where I'm comfortable.

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And, you know, it's been producing excellent results for me.

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It also means you can have your own timetable,

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which is quite important to you.

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I'm not very good at early starts.

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Another aspect of my ADHD is I don't sleep well.

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So sometimes I don't get to sleep till six, seven o'clock

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in the morning.

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And if I'm at squad, training starts at 9:30.

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So there's been a few times, when, you know,

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I haven't slept at all and I'm going to training the next day.

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Is there anything about your body, just the way you're made up

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that makes you particularly well-suited to that discipline?

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Yeah, I've got strangely... really long arms.

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-Really long arms.

-What, so like a massive wingspan?

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Yeah. Like, there's an experiment you can do.

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If you measure your arm span, and you put markers on the floor,

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it's the same height from your heels to your head.

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And mine's about 17 centimetres longer.

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Which is quite a lot.

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-Show me. Stand up.

-Oh, you want to see my...?

-Yeah.

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So, they do come down pretty far.

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I could scratch the tops of my kneecaps when I was younger.

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So that kind of gives you an idea of how big my arms were.

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Can I see your hands?

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Yeah.

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My God.

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Really, that's just one big callus, isn't it?

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-Yeah. They're like leather pads, really.

-Yeah.

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When I was younger, my mum was sunburnt and she asked me to put aftersun on her back.

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She screamed.

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-Because it was like being...?

-It was like sandpaper, yeah.

-Ooh.

-"Get off!"

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CLARE LAUGHS Never again.

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And it took so long to get this toughness back

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after my little break after 2012.

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-What, they went all soft?

-They went soft, yeah,

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and I was getting blisters and...

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you know, as much as I liked soft hands for a while,

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I'm glad I've got my hard-working hands back.

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Do you do anything to them to make them rougher?

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I mean, I've heard people put vinegar on.

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I remember when I was little and I had a blister,

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my coach told me to wee on it...

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..which I did, erm, stupidly.

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I don't think it helped at all.

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-I think he just...

-Was he joking?

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I think it's an old Russian, you know, Soviet thing.

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Apparently they used to do it, so we tried doing it

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and he thought it was quite amusing when I came in the next day saying I'd weed on my hands.

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Amazingly Paul Hall, the coach that you were talking about,

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-is still your coach.

-Yeah.

-And has been your coach since you were...

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Since I was...eight?

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That's an amazing relationship

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to maintain, cos he must have seen so many changes in you.

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We've had our arguments and disagreements along the way, but there's always a level of respect.

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I always respect him, you know -

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shake his hand before and after every session,

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if I'm late, I apologise...

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You know, he's been like a father figure to me.

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He's an incredible man. He's very smart, he's very intelligent.

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So yeah, he's been incredible for my career.

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Did he identify the pommel horse as your thing?

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I stood out like a sore thumb compared to most of the kids

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when I was doing pommel horse.

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The founder of this gym, Terry Sharpington,

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said very early on to Paul, "Louis is someone special."

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And erm...you know, not long before Terry passed away

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he said, "Look after Louis."

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And I was young, and no-one really believed in me

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when I was younger cos I wasn't the best gymnast.

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But he said, "Look after Louis."

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And he was right, you know, and Paul did that and...

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you know, we was able to be the dream team.

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With your routine, it'll be what, 50 seconds,

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-around about that length of time?

-Unless I fall off, yeah.

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SHE LAUGHS

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Have you calculated yet how many hours you've put into that 50 seconds?

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It's years...

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Well, my coach worked out

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for London, I would have done about a million circles on the pommel horse.

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So, for Rio, I probably would have done about...

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you know, 1.1 million circles, revolutions of the pommel horse.

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Which is quite incredible really.

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Have you ever ridden a real horse?

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-I have.

-Have you?

-Yeah.

-How did you get on?

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Er... I was all right.

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I stopped shortly after I nearly fell off.

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Shortly AFTER you nearly fell off?

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-Yeah.

-Oh, I see.

-So, I was learning to canter and as I was going,

1:24:531:24:57

I was slowly falling off to the side and the lady pushed me back on.

1:24:571:25:00

-And that was quite scary.

-CLARE LAUGHS

1:25:001:25:02

Cos it always makes you laugh, you know, obviously we'd cue it up,

1:25:021:25:05

"And here comes Louis Smith on the horse - or on the pommel horse."

1:25:051:25:08

I did a photo shoot on a shire horse.

1:25:081:25:10

-Did you?

-Yeah, and I was on a real horse.

1:25:101:25:12

And I was petrified. Absolutely petrified.

1:25:121:25:14

When the flash went off, it started walking off

1:25:141:25:17

and I nearly fell off the horse.

1:25:171:25:19

But, yeah, we tried on a real horse.

1:25:191:25:22

The shot looked really good, actually.

1:25:221:25:24

-But I wouldn't do it again.

-No, no, you don't need to do it in Rio.

1:25:241:25:28

You went away from gymnastics after London 2012,

1:25:281:25:30

you lived another life, a different life,

1:25:301:25:34

I mean, a life during which you won Strictly Come Dancing,

1:25:341:25:36

so not a normal life, but anyway... HE LAUGHS

1:25:361:25:38

What drew you back?

1:25:381:25:41

The magnet that has pulled you back into it - what was it?

1:25:411:25:45

It was a few things. Erm...

1:25:451:25:48

And I kind of needed that time away from the sport

1:25:481:25:50

to realise these things.

1:25:501:25:53

You know...

1:25:531:25:54

one, I saw gymnasts competing and winning medals

1:25:541:25:59

that I thought I could still beat.

1:25:591:26:02

And it made me realise, you know, my mum, my coach,

1:26:021:26:06

everyone had sacrificed so much to help me get to this position.

1:26:061:26:10

And if I can still put on a Union Jack and represent my country

1:26:101:26:15

and represent the people that have helped me get here

1:26:151:26:18

and still win medals, I have a duty to do that.

1:26:181:26:22

It's like the superhero character -

1:26:221:26:24

with great power comes great responsibility.

1:26:241:26:27

Paul said to me he thinks the difference now is you're doing it for you.

1:26:271:26:30

100%. 100%.

1:26:301:26:33

When I won my first World Championship medal,

1:26:331:26:35

there was expectation from British Gymnastics, UK Sport.

1:26:351:26:38

This is our first medal in ten years.

1:26:381:26:40

And then Beijing, it's our first individual medal in 100 years.

1:26:401:26:43

There was this expectation and this expectation to deliver,

1:26:431:26:47

and to keep delivering to secure more funding and...

1:26:471:26:49

It slowly does start to take away from the sport and the magic

1:26:491:26:52

and why you got into it in the first place.

1:26:521:26:54

And you're right, I got back into it for me.

1:26:541:26:57

And I loved it.

1:26:571:26:58

I loved it. There was no obligation for me to do anything,

1:26:581:27:01

I was just in here, training to be the best gymnast I could be.

1:27:011:27:04

But also you should feel incredibly proud of YOURSELF

1:27:041:27:08

for what you've done for British gymnastics.

1:27:081:27:10

Because that funding has allowed Max Whitlock and Dan Keatings and

1:27:101:27:14

the others to really come and shine,

1:27:141:27:17

and you look at the women's team as well and Beth Tweddle gets a lot of credit for that,

1:27:171:27:20

and for them to look at both of you and know it can be done,

1:27:201:27:24

against the traditional countries, the Russians and the Chinese, that

1:27:241:27:28

would have dominated gymnastics - and the Americans to some extent -

1:27:281:27:31

where you'd think "We've got no chance." You've shown there IS a chance.

1:27:311:27:34

There's so much talent in the sport now.

1:27:341:27:36

All the coaches at grassroots sport are so motivated.

1:27:361:27:39

You know, they've seen what people can be like at the top,

1:27:391:27:42

and it's just a massive knock-on effect and I think

1:27:421:27:44

British gymnastics is going to be here for a while.

1:27:441:27:47

We've got so many generations of gymnasts ready to shine,

1:27:471:27:50

it's just going to be a very good few Olympic cycles.

1:27:501:27:54

After becoming the first British male gymnast

1:27:541:27:57

to win an Olympic medal in 100 years,

1:27:571:28:00

by taking bronze in Beijing, Louis was determined to win gold in London

1:28:001:28:05

and performed a faultless routine.

1:28:051:28:08

What are his memories of that pommel routine -

1:28:081:28:11

and is he proud of his silver medal?

1:28:111:28:14

Tell me what you remember of London 2012,

1:28:141:28:17

if you were thinking and sort of...

1:28:171:28:19

almost like a camera going off,

1:28:191:28:21

the moments that you absolutely crystal clear, "I remember that"?

1:28:211:28:25

I mean, my pommel final was mostly a blur.

1:28:251:28:29

But there's parts that I do remember. I remember walking to the pommel horse.

1:28:291:28:32

And looking up at the clock

1:28:321:28:33

and you've got 30 seconds to get onto the horse.

1:28:331:28:36

And I remember seeing 17.

1:28:361:28:38

I just remember thinking, "This is it.

1:28:381:28:42

"This is the peak of my career,

1:28:421:28:44

"I will never be in better shape than this.

1:28:441:28:47

"This is the defining moment of my life.

1:28:471:28:51

"Let's show 'em what we can do."

1:28:521:28:53

And I always say a few words to my nan. Cos I lost my nan in 2009.

1:28:531:28:58

And I was just talking to my nan asking her to look after me. And...

1:28:581:29:03

you know, we'd done our job. She'd done her job, I did mine.

1:29:031:29:06

And I just remember thinking to myself, "I wonder who's watching.

1:29:061:29:10

"I wonder if everyone's proud,

1:29:101:29:11

"I wonder if anyone's recording it for me."

1:29:111:29:13

Now when I think about it, it's because my body was in autopilot.

1:29:131:29:17

I've done so many routines, I was just going through the motions.

1:29:171:29:21

I wasn't thinking about what I was doing, I wasn't tightening up.

1:29:211:29:24

I was just going through it.

1:29:241:29:25

And it was just bizarre.

1:29:251:29:26

And I remember landing in my pommel horse routine and thinking...

1:29:261:29:29

-LOUIS LAUGHS

-"How did I just do that?

1:29:291:29:32

"How did that just go as well as it did?"

1:29:321:29:35

I still can't believe it to this day, I mean, I was so nervous.

1:29:351:29:39

I've never felt like that in my life, I've always been so confident.

1:29:391:29:42

I was so nervous.

1:29:421:29:44

And I just can't believe it went the way it did.

1:29:441:29:47

-And it was as good as it could have been, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

1:29:471:29:50

-There's nothing you could have improved on, it was perfect.

-It was spotless.

1:29:501:29:53

It was spotless.

1:29:531:29:55

What's it then like waiting for the scores?

1:29:551:29:58

Krisztian Berki did a fantastic routine,

1:29:581:30:01

and I knew it had to be pretty special to have beaten him.

1:30:011:30:05

So, I'm there, thinking, "I've just done a harder routine,

1:30:051:30:09

"and it was immaculate. I'm in London..."

1:30:091:30:12

The crowd was going crazy,

1:30:121:30:14

and I'm thinking, "Do you know what, I reckon I've pipped him."

1:30:141:30:17

And then the score came up and I just saw 16.

1:30:171:30:20

That was the first thing I thought. And I thought, "Yes, I've done it."

1:30:201:30:24

And then I saw the rest of it and then it says "rank" at the side

1:30:241:30:27

and it said "two", and I'm like...

1:30:271:30:29

.."Hang on a minute."

1:30:311:30:33

-Cos the scores were identical, weren't they?

-Yeah.

1:30:331:30:35

So how did they divide you?

1:30:351:30:37

Well, there's a rule and it's an old Olympic rule,

1:30:381:30:41

it's a countback rule.

1:30:411:30:42

And they wanted to change the rules of gymnastics

1:30:421:30:46

to basically spice it up

1:30:461:30:47

and to say, "Right, do the most difficult routines you can do

1:30:471:30:49

"cos that's what we want to see."

1:30:491:30:51

So basically, you're penalised for doing a harder routine...

1:30:511:30:54

You still get penalised for it. Yeah, I see.

1:30:541:30:56

..because you end up getting more deductions.

1:30:561:30:59

If the same thing had happened at a World Championships

1:30:591:31:01

or a European Championships,

1:31:011:31:04

you share the gold medal.

1:31:041:31:06

It's just at an Olympic Games...

1:31:061:31:08

How quickly after London finished did you make the decision to stop?

1:31:081:31:14

Erm... I mean, I...

1:31:141:31:16

We'd already agreed to do Strictly Come Dancing.

1:31:161:31:19

They confirmed just after the team final,

1:31:191:31:22

I'd just got the bronze medal with the team.

1:31:221:31:24

I knew that I could be occupied up until December.

1:31:241:31:28

But there was no plans to carry on after 2012.

1:31:281:31:32

And the reason why is because 2012 was so massive.

1:31:321:31:35

Everything was focused on London.

1:31:351:31:37

So then when London had finished...

1:31:371:31:40

it was like, "Huh."

1:31:401:31:42

Like, life goes on. Like, "What happens now?"

1:31:421:31:45

What was the response...? When you did decide to come back to gymnastics,

1:31:451:31:51

was everybody wholeheartedly "Yay, hooray, he's back" or were there...?

1:31:511:31:55

No. CLARE LAUGHS

1:31:551:31:56

No.

1:31:561:31:57

When I decided to come back, it needed to be 100%.

1:31:571:32:00

You know, there was no... half getting involved - if I'm going to go for it,

1:32:001:32:03

I'm taking it 100% serious.

1:32:031:32:06

But I think some people...

1:32:061:32:08

..might have thought "It's just a bit of publicity,

1:32:091:32:12

"Louis getting back in the limelight...

1:32:121:32:14

And it was difficult because when I stepped out,

1:32:141:32:16

it gave a chance for other people to go in.

1:32:161:32:18

And the way that other people might look at it is

1:32:181:32:21

while Louis has been out of the sport,

1:32:211:32:24

those people have been training nonstop

1:32:241:32:26

their normal routine every day.

1:32:261:32:28

They didn't get the chance to go to 2012

1:32:281:32:30

and they're working relentlessly to be in the team.

1:32:301:32:33

It was almost like, "Who does Louis think he is,

1:32:341:32:37

"coming back when these guys have been working nonstop?"

1:32:371:32:40

Erm...

1:32:401:32:41

And for me, I knew very early on that...

1:32:411:32:45

zip it, get on the pommel horse and let my actions speak.

1:32:451:32:51

And that's what I did - you know, 2014 I did the BBC Tumble,

1:32:511:32:55

got that out the way, 2015 was my year to prove to the selectors

1:32:551:32:59

that, "If you don't pick me, you're missing out."

1:32:591:33:01

So every competition I did that year, I did clean.

1:33:011:33:05

And it was kind of like, "Look, I'm back. It isn't a gimmick.

1:33:051:33:10

"I'm not trying to rub people up the wrong way, you know,

1:33:101:33:13

"I'm passionate about my sport and my team -

1:33:131:33:15

"I want to be the best I can be. And I'm serious."

1:33:151:33:19

It almost feels to me, though, as if Rio is like a bonus.

1:33:191:33:22

I've done two good Olympic Games.

1:33:221:33:26

Both those Olympic Games I've been under pressure to perform, I've wanted to get through the routine.

1:33:261:33:30

Now, I really want to push the boat out and see how well I can do at an Olympic Games.

1:33:301:33:35

You know, I don't have the pressure that Max does and the rest of the team does.

1:33:351:33:40

Yes, there's expectation,

1:33:401:33:42

but because I have a level of confidence and of fun going into it

1:33:421:33:45

it's a different aspect to London altogether.

1:33:451:33:48

Do you think your rivalry with Max

1:33:481:33:50

has made you better? Or made HIM better?

1:33:501:33:54

Both of you, is it good for both of you?

1:33:541:33:55

It's definitely made me step my game up because I have to.

1:33:551:34:00

But I think it's definitely made HIM better.

1:34:001:34:03

You know, I think it's just naturally developed his potential, so...

1:34:031:34:07

We definitely bounce off each other.

1:34:071:34:09

I think he gets more from it.

1:34:091:34:11

Which he should, cos he's younger.

1:34:111:34:12

What do you think, as a team,

1:34:131:34:15

the British Gymnastics team are capable of?

1:34:151:34:18

Gymnastics is a very unpredictable sport.

1:34:181:34:20

You know, we need to do the best routines of our lives.

1:34:201:34:24

Everyone needs to do all-clean routines.

1:34:241:34:25

And that's the only thing we have control over.

1:34:251:34:28

What everyone else does - who knows?

1:34:281:34:30

I'm not going to say it'd be nice for other people to make mistakes,

1:34:301:34:33

but I think to have any realistic chance of pushing for a gold medal

1:34:331:34:37

in a team event, there needs to be that from other countries.

1:34:371:34:40

Have you decided already on the routine that you will perform?

1:34:401:34:44

For qualification, obviously, it's important that the team qualifies, so I'll be doing an easy routine.

1:34:441:34:49

In team final, depending on how they want to push for certain medals,

1:34:491:34:54

they can either choose for me to do the harder routine

1:34:541:34:56

to get more marks, or they can be safe and do my easy routine.

1:34:561:34:59

If I make the pommel horse final, then it's my own decision.

1:34:591:35:02

So who knows? But I think it's good

1:35:021:35:04

to have the hardest routine in the locker.

1:35:041:35:06

I mean, Max has got the hardest routine in the world at the minute.

1:35:061:35:09

And he does it very well.

1:35:091:35:11

And there's a lot of work that I need to do to get to that standard.

1:35:111:35:14

But it would be nice to have that routine

1:35:151:35:17

and put him under a bit of pressure.

1:35:171:35:19

Would you ever consider Tokyo?

1:35:191:35:22

Yeah. 100%.

1:35:221:35:23

I want to go to Tokyo.

1:35:231:35:25

But they haven't clarified the rules on how the specialists qualify.

1:35:251:35:29

So...

1:35:291:35:31

I don't know whether I'm going for Tokyo or not.

1:35:311:35:34

But...if it works out that I can, 100%.

1:35:341:35:38

If my body lets me, I'll do it.

1:35:381:35:40

And would there be anything between, you know,

1:35:401:35:43

that four-year cycle or in the middle of that four-year cycle

1:35:431:35:46

that you might want to do for British gymnastics

1:35:461:35:49

that would somehow sell it?

1:35:491:35:51

Like a big event, like a... You know, the whole team.

1:35:511:35:54

Make use of the profile that you guys have got

1:35:541:35:57

and will certainly have after Rio?

1:35:571:35:59

I think gymnasts, and what we do, is incredible.

1:35:591:36:04

And it goes back to when I say gymnasts don't have the biggest pockets.

1:36:041:36:07

Cos I train with guys that still live at home with their parents.

1:36:071:36:12

They can't afford to put a deposit down on a house

1:36:121:36:14

or live the normal life.

1:36:141:36:16

So, I'm in the process of trying to organise a competition

1:36:161:36:19

where gymnasts can have an opportunity to earn proper money.

1:36:191:36:24

My friends go to a competition - they go to a World Cup Grand Prix.

1:36:241:36:29

They win it, they get £600.

1:36:291:36:31

You know, and it's just... It's bonkers.

1:36:311:36:34

I can totally see you selling out arenas.

1:36:341:36:37

I'd come and watch that.

1:36:371:36:39

For sure, it'd be amazing...

1:36:391:36:41

Gymnastics is the first sport to sell out.

1:36:411:36:43

If Strictly can go on tour - which it does, and you know -

1:36:431:36:47

then why can't gymnastics go on tour?

1:36:471:36:49

There's plenty of razzle-dazzle...

1:36:491:36:51

I think it can. I think it just takes someone to do that. And to do it right.

1:36:511:36:55

That's my challenge to you, Louis Smith -

1:36:551:36:57

go and win your medal first in Rio, then Gymnastics...

1:36:571:37:00

-Are you going to come on board?

-..The Arena Tour. Totally.

-Yeah?

-Totally.

1:37:001:37:04

Erm... You won a bronze medal in Beijing,

1:37:041:37:06

you won a silver in London...

1:37:061:37:08

(Should have been gold!)

1:37:081:37:11

Could it be a gold medal in Rio?

1:37:111:37:13

It could always be a gold medal.

1:37:131:37:15

And that's not be being cocky, that's me being confident.

1:37:151:37:18

You know, I'm 27 years old now

1:37:181:37:20

and I've been competing at the top level for 12, 13 years,

1:37:201:37:24

and I know if I do the routine that I've been training,

1:37:241:37:27

there can always be a chance of a gold medal.

1:37:271:37:30

And if it goes well on the day at Rio...then it could be.

1:37:301:37:35

Well, thank you so much for your time, and good luck -

1:37:351:37:37

I was going to shake your hand

1:37:371:37:38

but actually I don't really like your hands. THEY LAUGH

1:37:381:37:41

-They're all rough!

-Thank you.

1:37:411:37:42

I'll give you a kiss instead.

1:37:421:37:44

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much. I need it.

1:37:441:37:46

There's something about this gym that reminds me of the film Rocky.

1:37:461:37:50

You know, the basic equipment is here, there's nothing glitzy or glamorous,

1:37:501:37:53

and the most important thing it has

1:37:531:37:55

is the attitude of the people who walk in here.

1:37:551:37:58

Now, Louis Smith is not a film star and this is not a film set.

1:37:581:38:01

He WAS a boy trying to make his mum proud.

1:38:011:38:04

Now he's a man who has come back to his sport

1:38:041:38:07

because he knows that at the Olympic Games, he has unfinished business.

1:38:071:38:12

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