1st Youth Olympic Games
Singapore (SIN), August 14 – 26, 2010

SINGAPORE (SIN), August 12, 2010: British boys typically dream of becoming professional footballers, but despite approaches from several former English Premier League clubs, Sam Oldham (GBR) decided to become an Artistic gymnast.
 
Four years ago Oldham was honing his football skills at Notts County's centre of excellence.
 
Offers from Nottingham Forest and Derby County could not entice him, however, and he opted to pursue his intertest in Artistic Gymnastics.
 
'I decided to focus on Gymnastics as I had already put so much time and effort into the sport,' Oldham said. 'I also knew I had a better chance of succeeding with it because there were already so many footballers out there.' 
 
Oldham won Gold in the Individual All-around and Horizontal Bar at the 2010 European Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham and was also a dual Gold medallist at the 2009 European Youth Olympics.
 
Oldham's success makes him the clear favourite at the Youth Olympic Games, though the disruption to flights in Europe following the volcanic eruption in Iceland in April has given his rivals an added incentive to beat him.
 
'There's a little bit more pressure from countries like Russia who weren't able to make it to Birmingham because of the volcano eruption in Iceland. They are hoping to get one over Great Britain.'
 
Singapore 2010 will not be Oldham's first taste of the Olympics. He joined Great Britain's squad for the Beijing 2008 Games as part of a programme designed to expose junior athletes to the Olympic experience. The experience proved invaluable and reinforced his goal of making the Gymnastics team for London 2012. Oldham added: 'It would be amazing to be part of that team. It's going to be huge. If I can do well here, it gives me headway and added experience for 2012.'
 
Depending on how he recovers after Singapore, coach Sergey Sizhanov (RUS) will decide where Oldham should compete next. Options include the 2010 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam and the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, both in October.
 
Sizhanov believes Oldham has a promising future in the sport. 'Leading up to the European Championships he was having problems with his wrist, but we worked through it and won Gold,' he said. 'This is just one example from his life that shows his strong character. He will do well, no matter what happens.'
 
The Men's Artistic Gymnastics programme starts at Bishan Sports Hall on Monday, 16 August.
 
source: YONS dj/yw/gr/mr