Coming from Great Britain isn't easy when your chosen sport is gymnastics. Historically Britain isn't a nation known for it's strong gymnasts and excellent results. However, since 2000 one gymnast has been changing all that. On the back of post-Olympic retirement, a young gymnast from Liverpool was selected for a number of international events such as the Swiss Cup. Although she made no real impact on the results, judges and fans began to notice that this gymnast was very talented, especially on bars.

This gymnast was, of course, Beth Tweddle.

Beth's brilliance on her premier event, the uneven bars (or asymmetric bars as they are called in Great Britain) can be traced back to an untimely injury in 1998. On the day of the Espoir (espoir is the age group below junior, much like the US child elite) National championships back in 1998, Beth broke her foot during floor training. However, the injury ended up being a blessing in disguise as bars was the only event she could fully train on in the months following the accident. The following year, Beth was looking good for the Espoir national title she was unable to fight for the previous year, but costly errors on beam saw her fall to 3rd behind Becky Mason and Becky Mason. This talented trio ruled the Espoir and Junior scene for many years, and Beth and Owen went on to dominate the senior ranks, with Mason suffering for many years with injuries.

In 2000 Beth finally achieved what she was capable of doing twice before - she became British National Champion. She has been National Champion in her age group ever year since then. That same year Beth was the most successful British gymnast at the Paris European Championships. Placing 17th in the all-around, she qualified to the event finals on bars, and finished 6th, an excellent result amongst a difficult field. Later that year she went on to win the Millennium Commonwealth Youth Games in Scotland, ahead of the much favored Australians.

2001 saw Beth hitting the senior ranks in amazing style. She won the British National title and placed second behind friend Becky Mason at the World School Games in Hungary. At the 2001 World Championships Beth qualified to the All-Around finals and placed 24th, but was verbally disappointed that she did not qualify to the event finals, saying she felt her routine was harshly judged, something that many fans believe Beth suffered again a year later in Debrecen. At the end of 2001 Beth had foot surgery, allowing her a short rest before her busiest year yet.

Everyone had high-hopes for Beth in 2002, a European Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and the World Championships. British gym fans and indeed fans from all over the world watched with anticipation to see what Beth could accomplish. However, no one was prepared for the amazing results Beth produced last year. The European Championships in April, held in Greece, were like a coming out party for Beth. After the preliminary rounds Beth went into the all-around in an amazing 6th place. Unfortunately costly errors kept her final placing down in 14th. However, with a place in the bars final, Beth had a chance to redeem herself. Never before had a British woman medalled at a European championships, was Beth about to change all that? She swung through her 9.9 start value routine with ease, and placed third, sharing the podium with the legendary Svetlana Khorkina and Dutch star Renske Endel. Beth says she can't remember much of that day ... it was all a bit of a blur, but she can remember feeling very very happy. After Europeans it was on to Nationals, and Beth secured her second senior title. For non-commonwealth readers, I should explain that the Commonwealth Games is a huge deal to the participating countries. Being held in England, it was an ever bigger deal for Beth. After captaining the team to a silver medal, the same that Annika Reeder steered the team towards 4 years earlier, Beth went on to shine in the AA, placing second behind Canadian Kate Richardson and ahead of Allana Slater, who came to grief on beam. A few days later Beth was back in the area with one thing on her mind: winning gold on her specialty event. Allana Slater produced a great routine, although Beth didn't see. She nervously waited in the corridor, concentrating and trying to focus. When it was her turn she went out and produced a fantastic routine. The judges had little to go by deciding between Beth and Allana but the end result catapulted Beth to national acclaim - GOLD! A true sign of sportsmanship, Allana was one of the first to congratulate Beth. The pair have competed in many Grand Prix together and are firm friends. Since that evening in Manchester Beth has become a regular face on local newspapers and TV stations, and has won practically a closet full of awards, and has an even larger list of nominations. After a quiet Autumn, Beth traveled to Debrecen, Hungary for her second world championships.

These world champs were solely event titles; there was no all around. Just missing out on beam semi finals, Beth qualified to the bars semi's in great style. Practically every fan of gymnastics in Britain tuned into Eurosport that Friday afternoon to see if Beth could perform the seemingly impossible - qualification to a world event final, another first for Great Britain from Beth. Indeed, Beth performed admirably under immense pressure, and secured a spot in the finals. The next day, with baited breath, the world watched as Beth once again took to the bars. Swinging an even better routine than she had produced the day before, Beth scored 9.312, and finished fourth. Beth being Beth, she is polite and diplomatic, saying that sometimes the judges go one way, sometimes they go the other. However, the gymnastics community have frequently voiced their disagreement with the judges decision of Russian Ludmilla Yezhova placing above Beth. However, Beth should feel proud that she has broken yet another rule for British gymnastics, 4th in the world is an amazing placing.

This year, Beth has suffered mixed fortunes at the hands of injuries. Winning silver behind Khorkina in Paris, and retaining her title in Cottbus, Beth had to skip most of the Great Britain vs. Spain match, only competing on bars due to an injured ankle. Two weeks later after her ankle was healed, she suffered a similar blow. At the British Team Championships Beth was looking good for the individual title but unfortunately injured her foot on her beam dismount and pulled out of floor, her final event. However she undoubtedly played a huge role in Liverpool retaining their team title much to the delight of coach Alison Kirby.

Where Beth will go from here is anyone's guess. Hopefully she can continue her impressive set of results, which are doing immeasurable amounts of PR for British Gymnastics. People with no interest in gymnastics are recognizing Beth from news papers and TV from the Commonwealth Games. Beth has amazing drive and ability. Already proving critics wrong time and time again, Beth has her sights set towards the Anaheim 2003 World Championships and ultimately the Athens 2004 Olympics. Already smashing down records set by her gymnastics counterparts of years gone by, can Beth break the ultimate record and become Britain's first ever Olympic medalist? One thing's for sure, Beth will try everything to do so.

Photos © Don Johnson and Associated Press