Cameron Lynn spent his first year as part of GB’s gymnastics squad flying under the radar. Now, in year two, it is time, he says, to make his presence felt.
The British Championships in Liverpool this weekend is the place Lynn wants to make his mark and the signs indicate he is going to do just that.
Lynn is in the form of his life, as shown by the five gold medals collected at last month’s Scottish Championships. Such dominance on the national stage has resulted in a considerable shift in mindset, admits Lynn.
“The five golds did exceed my expectations,” the 19-year-old says. “It definitely boosted my confidence and going back into training after that event, I did feel like I really am an all-rounder and that I can push those specialists out and win some medals. So it was a huge boost.
“Going into the British Champs, I’m feeling good. I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in and I’m really excited to show what I’ve been working on. I’ve got some new skills in my routines and I’m feeling great with how my prep has gone.
“Over the past year in the GB squad, I didn’t stand out much but I feel like now I’m ready to really stand out and I’m hoping I do that this weekend.”
The past year has been a breakthrough for Lynn. Despite his young age,Lynn was invited to join the lauded GB set-up at the start of 2022, which was a year that saw him also make his Commonwealth Games debut. Birmingham 2022, however, was not the fairytale he imagined, with a serious ankle injury threatening his participation.
After an anxious fitness battle, he made it to the Games but was far from his best physically. Despite making the pommel horse final and helping Scotland’s men’s team to fifth place in the team event, Lynn departed Birmingham last summer with mixed feelings.
“There was a point, when I was in a moon boot, that I wasn’t even sure I’d make it to Birmingham,” he recalls. “So it was really hard not being fully fit when I got there.
“I definitely had a down period after the Games because I was pretty upset with how I’d performed in Birmingham. Even though I wasn’t 100 per cent, it was still a brilliant learning experience for me. I had to remember that if someone had told me when I was a wee boy at primary school that I’d be at the Commonwealth Games, I wouldn’t have believed it and so it all felt pretty surreal.”
Those feelings of disappointment, however, have only served to fuel Lynn’s desire to succeed.
With the West Lothian gymnast now regularly training alongside the likes of three-time Olympic champion Max Whitlock in the GB squad, Lynn is far from intimidated; instead, his proximity to some of the best gymnasts in the world has resulted in his recent improvement.
“I definitely feel like my drive and determination has gone up a notch. Going to the Commonwealth Games and performing on that stage was a great experience and I think that’s driven me on to be better.
“Not performing how I wanted to in Birmingham has really motivated me to push on and get those bigger skills because I want to be in finals.
“I want to be one of those guys who is winning medals and seeing these British guys doing so well absolutely gives me the belief it’s possible.”
Lynn’s versatility means he is likely to be challenging for silverware in several apparatus finals this weekend, as well as today’s all-around final.
While he is reluctant to focus too much on medals, there is little doubt he is desperate to improve on last year’s British Championships which saw him narrowly fall short of a place on the podium by finishing fourth in both the vault and high bar finals.
Lynn is well aware that his best will see him in the mix for medals over the next two days and achieve his initial goal – to make everyone sit up and take notice of him.
“My problem in the past has been that I’ve gone to competitions and been too focused on thinking I want to win this medal or that medal,” he says. “So my goal for these British Champs is to go clean, have fun and enjoy the experience of being up against this amazing field; this is the very best in Britain so it’ll be tough.
“I go clean and hit some PBs, I’ll be happy with that. And if I manage to do that, it gives me a very good chance to win medals.”
Also in action this weekend will be Scotland’s all-around champion and Lynn’s fellow GB team-mate, Pavel Karnejenko, as well as team Scotland members,Hamish Carter and David Weir.
However, Commonwealth Games medallist Shannon Archer is absent due to injury.
