Lee sets his sights on a medal in Victoria

Daniel Lee pictured on the rings during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham Picture: DAVID FERGUSON

JERSEY gymnast Daniel Lee already has his eye on a third Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia, in four years’ time – and perhaps come away with a medal.

Lee exceeded his expectations at the Games in Birmingham in the summer when he enjoyed two top-ten placings, finishing seventh in the rings final and sixth in the all-round final.

The 23-year-old also represented Jersey at the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast.

‘That’s the aim and, hopefully, I can really challenge the top guys,’ said Lee, who is based at Tolworth Gymnastics Club in Surbiton.

The Islander, who has been nominated for Sporting Performance of the Year at the Jersey Sports awards this Friday, is still buzzing from his experience in England’s second city where he also achieved six personal best scores.

‘I was really pleased with that. It was the best performance I could have hoped for, so to be nominated for this award is the icing on the cake,’ he added.

‘I knew I had improved since the Gold Coast, so I did my routines the best that I could then anything could happen. That’s what I focused on. I didn’t want to go into the Games hoping for finals.

‘Going into it, we thought top ten, top 12 may be possible but to get top six, I didn’t expect that.

‘Gymnastics is such an individual sport that cannot control what anyone else does, so you just have to focus on your own performance.’

With the Games taking place on ‘home’ soil, Lee was spurred on by the support of friends and family watching on at the Arena Birmingham.

‘The atmosphere in the arena was something I will never forget. It was so loud, with the crowd getting behind everyone.

‘I remember falling off the high bar in qualifications and I could feel the support of the crowd to get me back up and finish my routine. Just reliving it now is making me really happy,’ he beamed.

For all the practice that Lee undertook in preparing for the Games and refining his technique, nothing can prepare you to perform in front a large crowd. And for a sport that is so technical and requires the finest precision, Lee admits it can be a daunting prospect, but one he overcome.

‘It can be quite overwhelming walking out into the arena and seeing all the crowd,’ he added. ‘I had to just control my breathing and relax and try to forget the crowd was there. But then you put your arm up to go, it’s just ‘’OK, I’m ready”.

‘With a crowd of that size, you can’t replicate that in the gym. But when you finish your routine and it’s gone well, there’s no better feeling.’

As it was with many athletes, Lee’s preparations for the Games was hampered by the Covid pandemic and the restrictions that were in place. On top of that, he suffered a hip injury that kept him out for around eight months and, soon after restrictions were lifted, he missed another couple of months after getting glandular fever.

‘It hadn’t been an easy four years but I think it was all the more rewarding to come out of that and do what I did,’ said Lee.

Since the Games finished, Lee has not had the chance to truly reflect on his achievement as he continues to strive to improve.

After a couple of weeks’ rest, he has been in a training camp for Great Britain before doing competitions in Germany in an interesting club league format.

Teams go head-to-head and compete for the Bundesliga title, just as in team sports such as football and basketball.

Lee has been competing as the one foreigner in the Vfl Kirchheim team in the second division south.

‘Two teams compete and you can put four people up on each apparatus and then it’s one v one,’ informs Lee.

‘Depending how much you beat the other person by is how many points you get [which then gets added to the team score. It’s really exciting and I really enjoy it. It is tactical as well.

‘Because you are competing for team there is extra pressure.’

Lee has two more matches in Germany until he is finished for the year. But after a little break, it’s back in the gym and competing on domestic competitions.

‘I’ll be focussing on upgrading my routines and increasing my start value, continuing my training to keep on improving.’

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