Jon Mutch continued an upward curve in his gymnastics career by finishing tenth in the European Junior Championships last month and is now looking forward to challenging long-time No.1 Steve Frew at the Scottish Championships in Perth next month.
The Aberdeen-born 18-year-old, who is coached by Paul Hall in Huntingdon near Cambridge, is the current British under-18 champion and has been able to train full-time since the award of a National Lottery grant last year.
''Jon has grown out of the stage where gymnastics is a sport: it's now his job,'' said Hall, who has guided his progress since he was an 11-year-old beginner.
''He has great potential and works very hard, training morning and afternoon every day.''
Mutch received just under #10,000 from the Lottery and hopes to at least match that when the new awards are announced soon. ''It covers all his expenses. But it is still very difficult to exist on that amount,'' Hall continued.
As the Scottish No.2, Mutch has already been selected for the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in September. The Scottish Championships are part of a preparation that include a competition in Portugal, an international against Sweden and a warm-up event in Malaysia.
His target in Kuala Lumpur? ''To complete six great routines and, hopefully, make a final in the floor or vault which are his best events. He's a great jumper,'' Hall said.
Next month, Mutch will celebrate a nineteenth birthday which marks the passage into senior gymnastics. Next season, he will be aiming for his first senior GB cap, and his longer-term target is the 2000 Olympic Games.
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