Having seen one of his clubmates come away with two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games to date, young gymnast Danny Crouch is determined to follow suit when he joins the senior ranks.
Courtney Tulloch, who like Crouch is part of the South Essex Gymnastics Club, added gold in the rings to his collection in Birmingham after helping Team England finish top of the podium in the team event.
The Games got underway around the same time Crouch was finishing competing for Great Britain at the European Youth Olympic Festival at Banstra Bystrica, Slovakia, from which the 16-year-old from Rayleigh came away with three medals.
The FitzWimarc School student won gold in the floor competition and silver in the team event, alongside Oakley Banks and Reuben Ward, and the horizontal bar before being Team GB’s flag bearer for the closing ceremony.
“Only a couple more years and hopefully that will be me on the podium or competing at senior multi-sport events, such as Olympics, Commonwealths and World Championships – that’s the aim,” said Crouch, who is a member of Aldi’s Rising Stars, a programme that supports 20 young athletes by providing a financial award to help with training and competition costs, while also delivering personal development opportunities to many athletes through workshop sessions.
“One of the gymnasts competing at the Commonwealths [Tulloch] trains at my club as well, so I am obviously very close to him and he always comes over to me and gives me some special words – that inspiration and motivation to keep going and keep pushing.
“Obviously, to see all the others at the National Centre and see all these big tricks and skills that they are doing, that always motivates all of us to go and compete at our best.
“The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles is the main goal to push for, for me – I think that’s the one I’ve got the greatest chance of getting selected for.”
Each year, athletes are nominated to SportsAid by the national governing bodies of more than 60 sports, based on set criteria.
The Rising Stars athletes will be receiving financial support through Aldi as well as a monthly food voucher, to fuel them through training, competitions and to future Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Crouch’s year is not done yet, as he is due to compete with Great Britain again in the junior competitions at the European Championships in Munich in August.
This is after a season in which he has taken part in competitions in Switzerland and Germany, while also coming second at the British Championships in the all-round competition.
For him to have got this far, however, is in no small part down to the funding he receives from Aldi and SportsAid, who help him through expenses and buying any equipment he needs.
Crouch said: “It is helped tremendously, especially with all the equipment I have to purchase and travelling to all these places I have to go to.
“When I am travelling with Great Britain, that’s obviously paid for by British Gymnastics, but when I’m competing at places like the British Championships, I’m having to pay for accommodation and food.
“To have that support is massive and it allows me to have the things that I need without having to worry about anything. It is a big help.”
Aldi is the Official Supermarket Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and have partnered with Team GB since 2015, ParalympicsGB since 2022 and will be supporting them through to Paris 2024.
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