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An over-active kid from Peterborough going for gold in Beijing
On Sunday Louis Smith could be Britain's golden boy of the Beijing Games... one of the youngest GB Olympians of all-time. The 19 year-old gymnast from Eye goes for glory in the pommel horse event in the early hours.
On Sunday Louis Smith could be Britain's golden boy of the Beijing Games... one of the youngest GB Olympians of all-time.
The 19 year-old gymnast from Eye goes for glory in the pommel horse event in the early hours.James Westgate finds out all there is to know about a star in the making.
Update: August 17, 1.10pm: Louis Smith wins bronze
More on Louis Smith:
Date with destiny for Louis
Smith will re-write the history books if he takes gold
Factfile: Louis Smith
ET's Olympic update
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AS a child it would have been all too easy to write off gym star Louis Smith as just another overactive kid with dreams beyond his station.
One of two children bought up in a humble single parent household on the outskirts of Peterborough, a decade ago the young tyro's ambition to one day compete at the Olympics looked a far from likely prospect.
In fact at the age of seven or eight, Peterborough's very own Commonwealth champion's other burning desire to one day be crowned King Louis of Jamaica looked a more likely bet.
Struggling to concentrate at school due to the then little known effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Britain's finest gymnast in a century could quite easily have slipped through the net.
At times difficult to handle in the classroom with his whizz bang approach to learning, teachers at Werrington Primary would often find their efforts to channel young Smith's obvious talents running into a succession of brick walls.
"I remember Louis as a very intelligent young boy who wanted to be into everything all the time - he just seemed to have so much energy," said former teacher at Werrington Clive Moody.
"Even at that age he had a real flair for sports of any kind, he would show us gymnastics moves he picked up off his brother and even then it was clear he had a lot of talent. His boundless energy did at times make him a handful in the classroom but there was never anything negative about Louis, he was just so full of beans."
Bright and articulate when he wanted to be, frustrations inevitably began to grow on both sides but one thing was fast becaming crystal clear.
The lad known by his many friends as Loopy Lou needed something big to sink his teeth into - a conduit to channel all that boundless energy.
And so it was that his ever-resourceful mum Elaine bundled her youngest son into the car and down to Hunts Gym Club where Louis' older brother Leon had recently become a member.
Smith remembers the day well: "I always had a lot of energy then when I saw my brother doing back flips I thought straight away that I wanted to do the same.
"Before mum had even taken me down there I had all but worn out the springs in her bed trying to do somersaults and when I finally got into that gym I was just in my element.
"All the equipment and people flying around in all directions seemed just my kind of place, it was full of action and I loved it straight away. I have never really looked back.”
Not that Smith’s occasional tendency to be ‘ a bit of a handful’ disappeared overnight, in fact those early wilful ways have played their part in his rise to the top on the hugely demanding discipline of pommel horse.
Watching him now with those long powerful arms and slender physique, it would appear the horse is the one piece on which Smith was born to peform.
But according to coach and mentor Paul Hall, Smith’s competence on the apparatus owes more than a little to the odd youthful transgression at the gym.
“If anyone was naughty, and Louis had his moments, we would make them do 200 circles on the pommel horse and I think that must have helped him get to grips with it in the early days,” he said.
“He was often in trouble at school but straight away I found a very clever young person with many, many ideas. Louis never conformed to normal standards of behaviour, he always wanted to try different things.
“Louis is also a very artistic guy, always painting and drawing, an introverted extrovert - one minute quiet and focused , the next singing and dancing in front of a crowd.
“I tried to give him lots to do because he got bored easily and that is when he became mischievious.
“He was hard work but as long as I kept him busy he was a real pleasure.”
And Smith certainly kept himself busy having found the key to unlock his future, training like a demon whenever he could during the evenings, weekends and school holidays.
Jump forward a few years and all that work paid off in spectacular style when Smith had his first taste of international success as he was crowned European Junior Champion at the age of 14.
Further success followed with Smith taking the Commonweath gold medal in 2006 before winning Britain’s first World Championship medal for more than a decade in Stuttgart a year later.
But success came at a price.
For a popular boy with many friends outside his sport, did Smith ever hanker for a normal life which didn’t revolve round punishing daily workouts and constant self sacrifice?
“When I was a bit younger I did used to go out with my friends a bit and watch as people got hammered on Lambrini or whatever and somethimes I did wish I could do the same,” he said.
“But you could see the state they got into and in the end it was not too hard for me to turn my back on that lifestyle as I preferred to express myself in the gym.
“When I am old I want to be remembered for achieveing something with my life, I want to revolutionise British gymnsatics and get more people into sport, I dont want to be a nobody.”
“And at the end of the day gymnsatics had given me the chance to visit some wonderful places around the world and have some awesome experiences, I wouldn’t change that for the world.”
And while his latest port of call for the Beijing Olympics is seen by many as a springboard for London 2012, having reached Sunday’s pommel final it is clear Smith has his sights set on a medal.
He added: “I came here looking for experience as it was originally felt that London would be a better target. But since the Worlds I have proved I can compete with the best in the world.
“My routine is good enough for a medal, it’s just a case of getting it right on the day as anything can happen in this sport. Just reaching the Olympic final in the pommel was my aim, now I am there I just want to go out and do myself and all the people who have helped me get there proud.”
Making people proud however is the one thing Smith clearly need not worry about anymore.
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