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Thursday, March 28, 2024

'I'm out of shape with gyms closed', says Britain's Cunningham

Duration: 03:31s 0 shares 1 views

'I'm out of shape with gyms closed', says Britain's Cunningham
'I'm out of shape with gyms closed', says Britain's Cunningham

British gymnast Dominick Cunningham says he is struggling to stay in shape while on lockdown with the Olympics now slated for 2021.

SHOWS: WALSALL, ENGLAND, UK (MAY 1, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) TEAM GB GYMNAST, DOMINICK CUNNINGHAM, ON STAYING FIT DURING LOCKDOWN, SAYING: "We don't actually know what's going to happen until we got the all clear for us to start training.

We haven't got any clue when that's going to be.

The shape of me, I'm going to be quite a bit fatter than I was.

I'm out of shape.

It is hard to replicate gymnastics outside the gym.

It's pretty much impossible to do my sport outside of a gym.

My hands are going soft, my wrists are getting weak, my ankles are getting weak, and in gymnastics, we are getting impacted every single day.

So, I think, the shape of it is going to be we'll have to wait until we get into the gym.

And we've got to build back up slowly.

It's not going to be a quick one week and I'm back up to fitness.

It's gonna be hard.

It's probably going to be the hardest part of my career getting back after weeks and weeks.

I've never had this long off from gymnastics in my whole life, let alone a year before the Olympics, or the year of the Olympics.

So, it's going to be a very tough ask to get back." 2.

TEAM GB GYMNAST, DOMINICK CUNNINGHAM, ENTERING GRAVEL YARD WHERE HE DOES SOME TRAINING 3.

CUNNINGHAM DOING A STANDING BACKFLIP ON THE GRAVEL 4.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) TEAM GB GYMNAST, DOMINICK CUNNINGHAM, ON MENTAL IMPACT OF THE LOCKDOWN, SAYING: "Mentally it's impacted me in a way where I can see myself getting unfit and I've never been in this 'worse of shape', let's say.

Like my hands are getting soft, muscles are starting to depreciate, getting a little bit more fat.

Because it's hard to replicate the sort of sport that I'm doing.

I'm trying my best, but it is mentally - I know I'm in for a big shock when I do get back to some sort of gymnastics and it's going to be very scary a year from the Olympics which is not much time considering I've had, at the moment, four weeks out of training.

I've never had that." 5.

VARIOUS OF CUNNINGHAM DOING SOME TRICKS ON A TRAMPOLINE 6.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) TEAM GB GYMNAST, DOMINICK CUNNINGHAM, ON IF TOKYO OLYMPICS WILL HELD IN 2021, SAYING: "It is a tough topic and I'm going to be optimistic and say yes (the Tokyo Olympics will be held in 2021).

I want it to happen.

This is something that I've - from a young age, I've wanted to go to an Olympics since the age of five.

I'm now 24, I'm getting old and I need to get to the Olympics.

I've worked so hard for it.

And this is just a small hurdle on the way.

We always cross these sorts of bridges, but I think there is a bigger picture at the moment.

I think the world - it's under attack kind of.

So, once everything gets back on track, I want the Olympics to be a massive celebration for the whole world and that's going to bring everyone together and the way it's unifying everyone to look after each other and help each other.

And I think that's the main thing.

And I think the Olympics has to happen." 7.

CUNNINGHAM PETTING A HORSE ON THE GROUNDS WHERE HE IS SPENDING LOCKDOWN 8.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) TEAM GB GYMNAST, DOMINICK CUNNINGHAM, ON BRITISH GYMNASTICS' RISE IN RECENT YEARS, SAYING: "In the past we've had people getting medals and that is where it's all comes from.

If we didn't have those people who have built the foundation for me to sit on now, and for me to keep going, they wouldn't have given me the motivation.

'They've got an Olympics medal, why can't I?'

I think that's where it's all come from." 9.

CUNNINGHAM CLOSING GATE TO GROUNDS STORY: British gymnast Dominick Cunningham says he is slowly getting "out of shape" with no place to train for next year's Olympic Games after gyms were closed down to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The coronavirus outbreak has left him training at a horse stable in Walsall and the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist said it was 'impossible' for gymnasts to train outside a gym.

The Olympics, originally scheduled to start in July this year in Tokyo, have been postponed to July 23-August 8, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Cunningham said he hopes they go ahead next year.

British gymnastics has come a long way in recent years, with Team GB gymnasts finishing with seven medals at the 2016 Rio Games -- their most successful Olympics ever -- and Cunningham credits their success as a motivating factor.

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