IMOGEN Cairns has backed her Portishead Academy team-mate Ruby Harrold to follow in her footsteps by qualifying for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Cairns became a double Olympian when she helped Great Britain to a sixth-place finish in the team final – their best showing at a Games since taking bronze in 1928 and their first appearance in a final since 1984.
And, while she doubts she will even make it to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, the 23-year-old is confident the future is bright, not only for British gymnastics but for the academy at Portishead.
Sixteen-year-old Harrold was on standby for this Games – after impressing at the European Championships earlier this year – and is regarded as a major talent.
Asked whether her young team-mate could go to Brazil in four years, Cairns, who choreographed Harrold's current floor routine, said: "Absolutely. She is on fire – and it was devastating for her when she hurt her foot back in the trials, although she dealt with that really well.
"She's just turned 16, which is so young in gymnastics, and she didn't even come up the elite route either. She did club grades and then turned elite – and she is a very talented girl. You'll be seeing a lot of Ruby.
"Her floor (routine) that she does now, I did that, so I've put my input into what she does. I think our coach prefers me working with the younger girls these days than her working with me!"
While Cairns' comment about focusing on becoming a mentor and inspiration for the younger gymnasts at Portishead was partly said in jest, there is also an element of truth in it as she considers her future in the sport.
She has hinted she will continue at the top level after the disappointment of not being selected to perform on the floor in Tuesday's team final – but coach Liz Kincaid is also eyeing a role for the three-times Commonwealth Games champion on the coaching side at Portishead.
"My coach probably won't let me back in the gym – she keeps saying: 'No, you're done!'" said Cairns. "She's had enough of me – she's got so many good little ones to concentrate on! But you never know with me.
"I do a lot of choreography – I make up all the routines for the girls in the gym – and I might go with that and do some routines for the country. I think I can help, because half the time when I'm with the GB team I'm not training, I'm helping all the other girls, such as Becky (Tunney, 15-year-old Olympian).
"People were telling me before the Olympics to sort out what I was going to do afterwards. But, because of how hard it was to get here, I couldn't put any thoughts into anything else.
"I know the direction I'm going to go – I'm going to stick with gymnastics, because it's all I know and I'm really interested in it. It just depends on how long I keep competing."
And Cairns revealed her disappointment at having to spend her preparation time for the Olympics without her coach, mentor and sounding-board, Kincaid.
With the other four members of the Great Britain team training at the City of Liverpool club, their coach was invited to be one of the two accredited coaches in the Olympic village, leaving Cairns to communicate with Kincaid exclusively via the telephone.
"I've not had Liz around this week and I really needed her," she said. "We didn't have enough accreditations – only two coaches go and then the technical director.
"They are fortunate enough to have four girls from Liverpool, so their coach was here – and I really needed my coach. It was really sad some of the time.
"We've been communicating over the phone but there's not a lot she can do unless she's there – and I train so differently to everyone else. I really missed Liz."
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