Joe Fraser head over heels to be at Paris Olympics

Since making his Olympic bow in Tokyo, the GB gymnastics star has lived through incredible highs and intensely challenging lows, from the joy of Commonwealth and European gold, to the pain and despair of injury which led him to question his very future in the sport.

Now as he prepares for Paris, the 25-year-old claims to be once more on an upward curve and in some of the best form of his career, as he targets the medal which so narrowly eluded him and the rest of the British men’s team in Japan.

“It has been quite the journey,” admits Fraser, delivering a contender for understatement of the year.

“I’ve definitely had some ups and downs along the way. But to be able to say that I’m going to the Olympic games again among some of the best gymnasts in the world is something I am really proud of.”

Fraser, one of only four male British gymnasts to win a world title and the only one to ever be crowned European all-around champion, knows there is always an expectation on his shoulders.

Yet his pride at simply being in Paris is wholly justified, considering the position he was in just a year ago when recovery from two surgeries, one on his right shoulder and another on his foot, proved far more complicated than contemplated.

For Fraser, 2023 proved to be a washout and he revealed in an interview with the Express & Star how at one stage he feared his career might be over.

“I was naive in terms of the rehab journey and how long it was going to take me,” he says now.

“Missing the whole of 2023 was a shock and a disappointment but it was necessary for me to then come back this year.

“Everything happens for a reason and I am proud of the journey I’ve been on thanks to the support network, the physios, the coaches, the strength and conditioning team.

“Everyone has been on the same mission to get me to be the best version of myself.”

Family was also crucial in getting Fraser through the toughest times, in particular dad Adrian and mum Yvonne, the latter of whom first took him to a gymnastics club aged five, due to concern he would break furniture while doing somersaults around the family’s Birmingham home.

Covid restrictions made Tokyo a strange experience for both them and Fraser, a Games contested in empty arenas with family and friends watching from afar. Paris will be different and Fraser is determined to reward his “support network” with a big performance.

“I was always dreaming of having my parents, my coach, my girlfriend, my sister at an Olympics,” he says. “Not being able to have that was a real shame but it was necessary with the period of time we were in. But now being selected for Paris knowing they will be there, I’ll definitely be sharing that moment with them, looking into the crowd trying to find out where they are. Without every single one of those people, I definitely wouldn’t be in Paris. I am just a product of a great team and a great support network. It’s not just about the work I’ve put in.”

Fraser announced his return by winning the all-around title at March’s British Championships, before helping the men’s team claim European silver a month later. Having been the youngest member of a four-man squad in Tokyo, he goes to Paris the second eldest of five, behind only six-time Olympic medallist Max Whitlock.

With reigning world vault champion Jake Jarman also in the ranks, the British team will be among the contenders for a place on the podium after agonising fourth-placed finishes at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo. They are first in action on Saturday morning in qualifying, with the team final taking place on Monday. “It’s hard to believe that now I am one of the older guys in the team,” says Fraser.

“It only feels like two minutes ago that I was the youngster breaking through and now I’m going to my second Olympics.”

Fraser, so recently the new boy, is happy to embrace the role of mentor, not that he thinks many of his younger team-mates necessarily require it. “I see that they’re fearless, they want to impress, they’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what is humanly possible,” he says. “I think that’s what’s amazing about gymnastics, because we’re always trying to innovate and work on a different way to be the best version of ourselves.

“Whether that’s on the apparatus, the nutrition we’re putting into our body or the amount of sleep that we’re getting.

“When we’re outside of the gym, we’re doing activities to make sure we’re as connected as a team as we can be. We’ve got such a different age range. There is an 11-year gap which is really cool.

“Max is 31 and at his fourth Olympic games and then you’ve got Harry Hepworth who is 20 going into his first. It just shows how much experience and depth we’ve got within the squad.”

Fraser, who two years ago won three gold medals at Birmingham 2022 despite competing with a broken foot, goes to Paris aiming to shine on the biggest stage of all.

“I’ve had some amazing achievements over the last few years and it does show me that I can achieve some great things,” he reflects.

“I am producing some of the best gymnastics I’ve ever done in my life and we’ll hopefully showcase that on the world stage and the Olympic stage, help the team to achieve great things and hopefully help myself to achieve more great things.

“I am excited, I am proud of everything I’ve achieved so far in my career and I look forward to finding out what I can achieve later on in my career.

“If we think too much about medals that is when mistakes can creep in. Of course, we want to walk away with Olympic medals and we know we’ve got great opportunities within the team and individually.

“But, first and foremost, we’re focusing on the job at hand.”