OVER the coming fortnight, the world's best gymnasts are set to somersault, soar and swing their way through a series of spectacular feats right here on Scottish soil.
The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships gets underway at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Friday.
A record 615 gymnasts from 91 countries will compete over the 10-day competition – the most high profile sporting event in Scotland since the 2014 Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup last year.
Confirmed to be competing for Great Britain is Scotland's Daniel Purvis who won gold at Glasgow 2014. The 24-year-old is part of a six-strong men's team that also includes world all-around silver medallist Max Whitlock and reigning European pommel horse champion Louis Smith.
The women's team includes Claudia Fragapane who made history at the SSE Hydro last summer by becoming the first Englishwoman in 84 years to win four gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games.
The British women will get their campaign under way on Friday afternoon with Olympic hosts Brazil, Italy, Russia, Poland and Germany also in action, while their male counterparts are set to make their first outing on Sunday morning alongside Brazil and Puerto Rico.
Gymnasts will contest medals in 14 events with team and individual all-around competitions for both men and women. There is also individual apparatus finals for men on floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar and for women on vault, asymmetric bars, beam and floor.
The star-studded line-up includes Simone Biles from the USA and Japanese legend Kohei Uchimura – the defending world all-around champions – aiming for their third and sixth consecutive titles respectively.
Biles' compatriot, the reigning double Olympic gold medallist Gabby Douglas, is billed to compete as is Russia's Viktoria Komova who took silver at London 2012.
Romania's darling Larisa Iordache – a five-time European gold medallist dubbed "the new Nadia Comaneci" – is another of big name coming to Glasgow.
Those looking to see a perfect 10, however, may be disappointed. An overhaul of the judging system means that the last 10.00 in a major gymnastics competition came from Lavinia Milosovici of Romania as she won gold on floor at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships are at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow from October 23 until November 1. Visit 2015worldgymnastics.com
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