TEAM 2012: Louis Smith is thinking long-term

By Ben Baker, Sportsbeat

OLYMPIC bronze medallist Louis Smith admits everything he does from now on will have a knock effect on London 2012 - but insists he's only thinking about the here and now.

AMBITION: Louis Smith is playing the long game as he seeks to upgrade his Beijing bronze at London 2012 (Getty Images)

The 21-year-old won Britain's first Olympic gymnastics medal for 80 years in Beijing two years ago -on collecting pommel horse bronze in the Far East.

However Smith has endured a tough time of it since and suffered a dramatic fall on the pommel horse at last year's World Championships at London's O2 Arena, finishing eighth out of eight.

Smith's misery was compiled at the European Championships in Birmingham as he had to settle for silver behind teammate Daniel Keatings - who added gold to his world all-around silver.

He will bid to readdress the balance at October's World Championships in Rotterdam and while earmarking 2012 as the one that matters most, he insists this year's results are the most important at present.

"Everything I do is geared towards London 2012 but we have targets building up to it that we must hit if we stand a chance of doing anything at the Games," said Smith.

"So all the training I am doing now is not for London 2012 but for the World Championships and I really want to do well out in Rotterdam.

"The World Championships are a qualifier for the next World Championships in 2011 and then they are a qualifier for the Olympics.

"So I really have to think about what I need to do now as opposed to what I need to do at London 2012 and it is one long chain anyway so it all has an impact.

"I picked up silver at the European Championships this year and it is going really well and I haven't got any injuries that could set me back so it has all gone to plan so far."

And Olympic bronze medallist Smith has revealed his plans to unveil a new pommel horse routine at the World Championships in the Netherlands with a view to London 2012.

"Training for the World Championships has been going really well and I haven't picked up any injuries in a while either," he added.

"I am practising a new routine and I am looking forward to getting that out there and doing that on the big stage.

"I haven't set myself any solid targets but I just want to try out my new routine on the big stage and get it out there and get it consistent and then build it up for future competitions."

Visa is proud to be Presenting Partner of Team 2012, a team of 1,200 athletes across the UK who are aiming to compete at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For more information go to www.lifeflowsbetter.com