Gymnast Kristian Thomas sets the bar high

The 23-year-old from Wednesfield was just starting as a pupil at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Wednesfield, when he went to Earls Gymnastics Club in Halesowen with his older brother Ashleigh.

Now his parents are used to standing anxiously on the sidelines, watching open-mouthed as their son performs impossible-looking acrobatic feats before their eyes.

Like most youngsters who start a sport, Kristian joined the Furnace Lane club as a hobby, but it wasn't long before the coaches picked up on his skills and encouraged him to progress.

Kristian admits that the club was a way for his parents to tackle his lively nature.

"I was always climbing and getting into things that I shouldn't, so going to gymnastics channelled my energy," he says.

"I also have a younger sister, Rebecca, and she was into gymnastics too."

Kristian, who lives in Silverton Way, says he has always been a member of the Halesowen club and also trained at Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Shropshire.

"It was when I did the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 that I realised I could make a career out of gymnastics and so I started to push forward with it," he says.

"I had worked hard in the gym and trained for around 30 hours a week so was thrilled to come back from Melbourne with a team bronze medal."

Kristian's mother Catherine, who works as a midwife, said parents have to give their children a lot of support. "Before they get a driving licence you go along to their competitions and take them to practices," she says.

"When he was at St Edmunds High I would drive him for an hour-long training session in Lilleshall before taking him to school – his teachers were always very supportive. As a teenager he was putting in 25 hours of training a week, it was like a full-time job. Now we are supporting him as an adult and proud of how well he has done."

Catherine says she and her husband Peter have watched their son work his way up onto the boys squad, which was when he started to take part in local competitions.

"It has been such a gradual progression, it is something that doesn't happen overnight but it wasn't long before he joined the regional squad," she adds.

Catherine says that Kristian really enjoyed competing and when he was 16 he made a decision about whether it was something he wanted to take seriously.

"The Olympics is a very big goal and at that time seemed a long way off," she says.

"However, then he did the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne when he was 17 and getting there was such as big surprise for all of us."

Catherine says Kristian's girlfriend Gemma has been very supportive since they met while at school. Gemma goes along to competitions with the family and supports Kristian, even though he is often away training.

Kristian's coach Michelle Bradley has worked hard to ensure he was ready to join Team GB.

Catherine says the last few years have been a nerve-wracking time for the whole family.

"Like any mother I want my child to do well and that is nerve-wracking as the expectations on him are so high," she says.

"I'm sure Andy Murray's mum gets nervous when he is about to compete because also you don't want them to get injured." Catherine says all the Olympians know that the spotlight is really on Team GB this year with the games taking place in England.

"It would be a dream come true if he walked away with a gold medal, but that is what everyone who is going into the Olympics is aiming for," she says. Kristian, who was also selected to carry the Olympic torch through Smethwick, usually dedicates 25 to 30 hours a week to training.

He says: "My best disciplines are the floor, vault and high bars but I still do all six which include the rings, pommel horse and parallel bars. To go to the Olympics is the pinnacle of every athlete's career and I hope to produce some fantastic results."

He says he was delighted when he found out he had secured a place with Team GB.

"I was over the moon and found out by a phone call a few days before the official announcement," he says.

Kristian, who started competing at the age of eight, says before he goes into a competition he tries to relax. "A couple of minutes before my performance I do mental preparation," he says.

"I'm very proud to be in team GB and even though there is quite a bit of pressure to do well I'm going to try and take it in my stride."

Peter says as a youngster his son's co-ordination needed some fine tuning but they never thought the gym classes would shape Kieran's career.

"We are so proud just knowing that he has got to the Olympics – you can't ask for anything better,"says Peter, 53, a self-employed heating engineer. "Whether he gets a gold or not it doesn't matter to us – anything above getting into Team GB is just a bonus."