Kristian Thomas 'will ignore the London 2012 hype'
Kristian Thomas today declared himself ready for London 2012 and insisted he will ignore the Olympic hype.
Kristian Thomas today declared himself ready for London 2012 and insisted he will ignore the Olympic hype.
The Wolverhampton gymnast was named in Team GB yesterday and knows he needs to forget the distractions during his final preparations.
The five-man team leave for a two-week training camp in Arques, France, on Monday and then head straight into the Olympic Village before their competition starts on July 28.
And Thomas, who will make his Games debut, said his hard work starts now.
"The coaches really put us through our paces this week and they will be for the next few weeks so there's no rest for the wicked – it's still about getting the head down in the gym," he said.
"It's brilliant we're going to the Olympics but we've got to refocus now. We've still got a target which we need to hit and we need to achieve it.
"We're all working hard, looking good in the gym and we're prepared."
British Gymnastic Olympic performance director Tim Jones believes the team is capable of claiming a medal after their stunning gold in the European Championships in May.
Thomas' brilliant high bar routine clinched the win in Montpellier but he insisted they are not going to put any extra pressure on themselves.
The 23-year-old, joined in the team by Louis Smith, Max Whitlock, Dan Purvis and Sam Oldham, faced an anxious wait over selection after fourth place in the British Championships last month but was told he was in last week.
And he admitted he struggled to keep it quiet ahead of yesterday's announcement at Loughborough.
"I found out a few days ago but now it's official I can tell all the family and friends. Everyone has been asking and I've been saying 'I don't know, I can't say anything'," said Thomas who trains at Earls Gymnastics Club in Halesowen as well as the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall.
"We knew before the weekend but now I can tell everyone and I'm sure they'll be over the moon for me.
"It was difficult. We got our phone calls and wanted to shout it out and tell everyone but we couldn't."
