Cameron Lynn is not one to temper his ambitions, nor be deterred by the fact that in order to fulfil said ambitions, he’ll need to exceed the achievements of those who have preceded him.

Lynn wants to become the first Scottish-born gymnast to become an Olympian.

Two Scottish gymnasts have, so far, achieved this feat of making it to an Olympic Games; Dan Purvis and Daniel Keatings.

Both represented Scotland as well as Team GB but both were also born and bred south of the border.

Lynn, however, is a product of West Lothian Gymnastics Club and it’s here his dream of becoming an Olympian was born, and has been fostered.

It’s only in the past year or so that an Olympic appearance has become anything approaching a realistic prospect for Lynn.

At just 20 years old, he remains a fledgling prospect in the sport. But his recent form has highlighted his precocious talent.

At last month’s Scottish Championships, Lynn walked away with five gold medals, including victory in the prestigious all-around competition. 

While such a sizeable medal haul hadn’t been his explicit goal, he admits it was a confidence-boosting outcome for his excellent performance.

“It was quite surreal – I wasn’t expecting to win five golds, I just wanted to beat my score from my last competition,” the 20-year-old says. 

“So it was certainly nice to walk away with so many medals.

“It really helps me go back into the gym and be more confident in my own gymnastics. It gives me that belief that when I hopefully go onto bigger competitions later in my career, I can hit these big scores because I’ve been doing it domestically.”

If Lynn is to fulfil his Olympic ambition sooner rather than later, he’s likely going to need the performance of a lifetime at this week's British Championships, which begin today in Liverpool.

The Herald: Cameron Lynn won five golds at the recent Scottish Championships. (Pic - Ewan Bootman)Cameron Lynn won five golds at the recent Scottish Championships. (Pic - Ewan Bootman) (Image: Ewan Bootman)

With the current men’s GB squad boasting individuals of the calibre of the likes of three-time Olympic champion, Max Whitlock as well as World, European and Commonwealth medallists Jake Jarman and Courtney Tulloch, Lynn is well aware quite how stiff the task of forcing his way into Olympic contention at all will be, but particularly for the Paris Olympics this summer.

But he’s not one to shy away from a challenge and with Lynn, whose strongest apparatus is high bar, unburdened by any pressure this weekend, he’s in the perfect position as he prepares to begin his campaign in Liverpool.

“For me this week, it’s about trying to do even better than I did at the Scottish - I want to just go clean and enjoy it,” he says.

“Once I start thinking about scores and medals and what I need to do to beat this guy or that guy then the pressure starts to really weigh on you. So if I go in just thinking about my routines and not worrying about scores or selection or anything like that then I’ll perform a lot better.

“The Scots are so outnumbered by the English gymnasts at the British Champs but I don’t mind that because I’m under the radar and a little bit of an underdog. “But I always keep that goal of making the Olympics in the back of my head and so doing a bit of damage this weekend would get me closer to that goal.

“My chances for Paris 2024 are pretty slim but it’s not completely out of the question. So I feel like I’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose.”

Given his age, Lynn knows that it will likely be the 2028 Olympic Games and beyond before he’s hitting his peak.

But he does allow himself to appreciate the speed of his progress in recent months, particularly given that just two years ago, even making it into Scotland’s team for the Commonwealth Games seemed something of a long shot.

“It’s crazy to be even talking about the Olympics,” he says. 

“Coming out of lockdown in 2021, I was talking about hopefully making that fifth spot in the Scottish team for the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

“But I made it into the British squad in 2022 and it’s gone from there. And now I do think wow, I’m actually doing this and it’s amazing.

“My goal of becoming the first home-grown Scot to make it to the Olympic Games will be tough to achieve but one thing you really need in gymnastics is belief and I really believe I can make those GB teams for major competitions.”

Lynn will not be the only Scot in action in Liverpool this weekend.

Shannon Archer, bronze medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be competing in her last-ever event before she retires from the sport while Crystelle Lake, Hamish Carter and Ewan McLellan will also be competing.

And from a UK-wide point of view, the names to watch out for are Whitlock, Rebecca Downie and Alice Kinsella.