Birmingham's golden gymnast Joe Fraser on overcoming adversity and building for new generation

• Joe Fraser has been speaking to ITV News Central reporter Arun Lal about why he chose his sport and what he's got planned for the future generation of gymnasts.

When Joe Fraser was five-years-old, he was a bundle of energy and like many parents, his mum and dad knew he needed to channel it positively.

So, they took him to their local gymnastics club, and Joe said the rest was history as he fell in love with the sport.

In his words, "it felt like flying". It is something so many people can only imagine but for Joe, it is almost a reality.

As he grew, so did his skill set and with practise and precision Joe honed his talent for the floor, rings and pommel horse.

In 2017, Joe made his international senior debut in June at the 2017 European Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

In July of that same year, he won the All-Around title at the 2017 British Championships. He also won a gold medal on the high bar, a silver medal on rings, and a bronze medal on parallel bars.

Two years later, Joe became the youngest competitor on the parallel bars at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, where he came away with his first gold medal on the apparatus.

When Joe's home city of Birmingham was announced to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022, he said he wouldn't let anything stop him from competing.

However, in the run-up to the games, Joe suffered a fractured foot two weeks prior, and had his appendix taken out five weeks prior.

But, the 25-year-old was determined to make the games and when he did, Joe said it meant everything to him.

Joe said: "It really did, I had a lot of obstacles to get past to get to those games as well, I had fractured my foot two weeks before, I had, had my appendix out four or five weeks before, so I had a lot going on, but there was nothing that was going to stop me from competing at those games.

"I knew how much it would mean to the city to see someone who is homegrown, competing at these commonwealth games and hopefully achieving great things."

Well, Joe did, by picking up three golds. After that he had his eyes set on the Olympic games in Tokyo.

He was part of a team, consisting of Max Whitlock, James Hall, and Giarnni Regini-Moran, they took fourth place with a score of 255.76.

Joe then continued to compete in the Olympics at Tokyo and qualified for the individual all-around final where he came 9th in his debut games.

Joe tore his shoulder at the end of 2022, he took a year off to rehabilitate his injury and returned to the British Championships in 2024 to take All-Around Gold

He said he would write notes with his achievements to keep his mind healthy, while his body was trying to recover.

After the British Championships, up next was the Olympic games in Paris, Joe said this cycle was for his team after he became a full Olympian in Tokyo.

He said it was for the team that had put him back together after his injuries.

Joe was recently recognised as an honorary graduate by Birmingham Newman University for his commitment to social mobility, community engagement, and the pursuit of excellence.

Joe said he wants to give back to his community and is planning to open a gymnastics club to teach and find the next generation of gymnasts.

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