COURTNEY TULLOCH would love to become the Special One of gymnastics and make amends for his Rio heartbreak.
The 23-year-old is in Tokyo this month on a ten-day training camp.
In exactly 12 months’ time he will return as one of the main contenders for the rings competition.
The Lewisham-born star has developed significantly over the past two years into one of the country’s leading gymnasts.
He has already succeeded on the international stage, winning three medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games — including two golds.
And when he got back from Australia, he unexpectedly received words of encouragement in the post from Jose Mourinho, the then Manchester United manager.
Tulloch, who trains in Maidstone, Kent, said: “After the Commonwealths, one of the parents at my gym club sent an email to Man United, saying I was a big fan.
“Mourinho sent me a message back and signed it. He said, ‘Hey Courtney, well done on the Commonwealths. I heard you did amazing. Keep up the good work. Yours, Jose Mourinho’.
“I mean, he didn’t have to do that. He’d have been so busy. It was great. It’s a shame he left the club.
“I’d like to write to Man United after Tokyo. Maybe they’ll give me a box or something if I win gold!”
Next year will be Tulloch’s first taste of the Olympics because three years ago he narrowly missed out on selection to the Rio Games. The knockback hurt his confidence and self-belief.
Tulloch said: “I found it hard coming into the gym. I felt I had let a lot of people down.
“From a young age we were always saying, ‘2016 — that is our time’. So to not go then was a shock.
“I didn’t appeal but wish I had. Because you never know... anything can happen.
Courtney Tulloch (Artistic gymnastics)
Age: 23
Place of birth: Lewisham, London
Career highlight: 2 x Commonwealth Gold medals (2018 Rings & Team)
National Lottery funding: “I’ve access to the best coaching, medical team, support team and facilities. It has been a big part in my success. Being a gymnast is full on. I train for six hours a day and need recovery, nutrition, physio and rehab. National Lottery funding means I can commit 100% to gymnastics. There are lots of really specific gymnastic equipment I need daily like hand guards, leotards and lots and lots of chalk! By playing the National Lottery it allows me to have the best resources and equipment in the gym.”
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“A couple of months later I heard I was very close and maybe if I had appealed, it would have been different.
“I believe 100 per cent I was ready for Rio. But then I know I couldn’t have done any more to get into the team. It wasn’t meant to be. Tokyo is my time.”
Tulloch’s biggest obstacle to glory will be reigning Olympic champ Eleftherios Petrounias, 28, of Greece.
Most gymnasts would be scared of tackling the three-time world champion but Tulloch fancies his chances.
He added: “He is beatable. He sets the bar high and I’ve got to raise it and beat him.
“That’s my goal and dream — to be on top of the podium.
“I don’t want to go to the Olympics for the experience. I know it would be incredible to say I am an Olympian but I want to be an Olympic medallist and make my country proud.
“I don’t want him to retire and then be on top of the podium.
“I want to beat him and be known as the greatest rings worker of all time.”
National Lottery funding has supported more than 6,000 athletes since 1997, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering technology, science and medical support. Each time you play The National Lottery, you are transforming British sport. British athletes have won more than 860 inspirational Olympic and Paralympic medals since National Lottery funding began.
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