• London 2012

Tweddle trailblazing the path to London

Beth Tweddle is the most successful British gymnast of all time © Getty Images

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Great Britain's 19 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics was the best British medal haul in a century. While the 146 medals at the 1908 Games in London will almost certainly never be matched, the exploits in China have seen expectations raised as the Games return to the capital.

One athlete who went to Beijing in the running for a medal was Beth Tweddle, who agonisingly was a shaky dismount away from bronze on the asymmetric bars. But the figure who has been the mainstay of British athletics for the best part of a decade - the first British gymnast to win a European title, and then emulate the feat on the world stage - continues to pave the way for others.

Tweddle led a British three-medal haul at the World Championships in Rotterdam last week, just a fortnight after a young English team picked up 12 medals at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

And Tweddle believes it is a sign of things to come for British gymnastics, and insists that such is the strength in the British squad that her place in the Olympic team for London is by no means guaranteed.

"We were lucky enough to be able to send different teams to the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships because they overlapped," Tweddle told ESPN.

"The team that went to Delhi were mostly youngsters who were not quite ready for the worlds but will have got lots of experience and could be the stars of 2012.

"Max Whitlock and Reiss Beckford did so well, and obviously with five medals Luke Folwell is the most successful Commonwealth gymnast we've ever had which is fantastic.

"There will only be five spots on the team for London 2012 so everyone will be fighting for a place, and it's great for British Gymnastics that it's going to be so competitive."

Tweddle claimed her second world title on the uneven bars in Rotterdam last week - reclaiming the crown she won four years ago.

Her gold medal came on the same day as Louis Smith's silver medal on the pommel horse and 19-year-old Daniel Purvis' bronze medal on the floor as Britain enjoyed their most successful day at a world championships.

Tweddle won her third world title in Rotterdam last week © Getty Images

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But despite two world titles on her favoured apparatus, it is the gold medal she won on the floor at London's O2 Arena at last year's World Championships that is Tweddle's most favoured possession - and surely a triumphant return to the venue in two years' time would crown a glittering career.

"I think last year's title was the most special," she said. "It was at the O2 in front of all my family and friends, and it was the least expected."

At 25, Tweddle is already a relative veteran in a sport dominated by teenagers - every other member of the uneven bars final in Rotterdam was aged 18 or under.

Tweddle will be 27 when the London Games kick off, with two Olympics already under her belt. But the world, European and Commonwealth champion has just one medal missing from her collection - that elusive Olympic gong.

Tweddle will be one of the most well-known personalities of the London Games and will be a firm favourite for a medal. But she insists she pays no attention to the media and refuses to accept any favourite's tag.

"The only pressure I will feel is the pressure I put on myself," she insists. "My coach tries to keep me out of the way so I don't get distracted and keep me focused and we never set targets going into a competition, she just tells me to do what I do in training."

Whether or not Tweddle expects anything less than gold, a medal of any colour in London would cap a sparkling career. But whenever she eventually decides to hang up her leotard, Tweddle has her future planned down to the finest detail.

A graduate in Sports Science, she is currently studying part time at Liverpool University and intends to play an active role in getting youngsters involved in the sport. And would she consider taking up an invitation to appear on Strictly Come Dancing? "Definitely."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.