BETH Tweddle has played down concerns over her fitness as she looks to make more history for British gymnastics at this summer's Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old injured an ankle in training last month, meaning she was unable to defend her all-around title at the recent National Championships.
Tweddle, who became the first British gymnast to win a world title when she took gold on the asym
metric bars in Denmark in 2006, will shoulder most of the British team's medal hopes as part of a six-strong party travelling to Beijing.
And the Liverpudlian, who missed the Commonwealth Games two years ago due to injury, was quick to allay fears she would face a bigger disappointment next month.
"The ankle's getting there," she said. "Obviously the doctors and physios are keeping a close eye on me and my personal coach is just making sure everything is staying in place.
"I haven't changed my training preparation since I've come here, I've just kept with what I was doing at home. I'm happy with how it's progressing and hopefully I'll be fully fit."
Tweddle also confirmed that Beijing is likely to represent her last foray on to the Olympic stage as she is ready to call time on her career well before the London Games in 2012 rolls around.
"I think it will be my last Olympics," added the 23-year-old. "Obviously I'd love to go to a home games.
"I did the Commonwealths (in Manchester in 2002] and it was a mega experience but I think my body's going to be too old and I'll have to leave it to the younger members of the team."
Having tasted success at national, European and world level, Tweddle would love to complete the set in Beijing after the disappointment of Athens four years ago where she fell off the beam and missed out on the final of the asymmetric bars. "Any medal of any colour would be the icing on the cake," she said.
"I've had so much throughout my career that I never even dreamt that I'd be able to take.
"That (an Olympic medal] is my ultimate goal but it's not something that if I don't achieve, I'll look back on and regret.
"No team decisions have been made as to what pieces people are competing on yet but my main focus is obviously bars and floor.
"I'd like to compete in the all-around but we'll just have to see how the body's holding up and what the team's needs are."
However, Tweddle is optimistic that Britain can prosper in the team event. With competitors such as 16-year-old Becky Downie, an individual bronze winner in Melbourne two years ago, and Rebecca Wing, also 16 and who has world championship experience under her belt, they have real depth in the squad.
"We're probably an outside bet for a medal. I'm sure there's a few above us but anything's possible, all the teams are so close now so it's about what you can do on the day," she said.
"For one of the first time we had quite a few of us trialling for the Olympics which was hard because we had to leave so many of us at home. But it just shows the depth and strength that we have got in our team."
It is, according to Tweddle, also indicative of the changes her success has brought about in the sport since she became the first Briton to pick up a European championship medal six years ago.
"A lot has changed. Obviously the belief within myself but also for the rest of the girls they realise that they can go out there and challenge for a medal," she said.
"They've got the thinking they can also do it. It's not a case of just turning up to a world championship to compete, it's a case of turning up to challenge for medals and the training prior to it.
"It's not just about getting through your routines, it's getting through your routines with perfection.
"Also the lottery funding that goes into it. A few years ago, a lot of coaches would have been doing full-time jobs and trying to coach their elite gymnasts whereas now a lot of them are just elite coaches for getting us to competitions like this."
The full article contains 730 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
