If there is a measure of how Dan Purvis has grown in stature as a gymnast, the European Championships which begin in Montpellier, France, on Wednesday will provide it.
It was three years ago that the Scot – at 18 – competed in his first major senior competition, the 27th European Championships in Milan, where he surprised himself by finishing seventh in the all-around competition.
Since then, he has greedily partaken in the golden feast of British men's gymnastics which has obliterated the record books and threatens to peak in London in two months' time.
Peterborough's Louis Smith made a major breakthrough by winning a bronze on the pommel horse in Beijing four years ago, Britain's first individual Olympic medal for 80 years.
There was a minor hiccup last October at the World Championships in Tokyo when the men's team failed to gain the expected Olympic qualifying place but that was righted in January when they belatedly qualified through the Test event.
Purvis never wavered throughout the Tokyo experience. He performed consistently in the team event and missed out on an all-around medal by just a fraction of a point when he finished fourth after a late charge by Philipp Boy, the German who gathered the silver medal.
Boy is the defending champion in Montpellier this week – the last major event before the Olympic Games – and it would be a notable scalp for Purvis to take ahead of London. He already finished in front of him to win the 2011 World Cup series and Purvis underlined his readiness for London by winning the all-around competition at the Test event at the O2 Arena and also winning a gold in the floor exercise.
He may have a thick Scouse accent and sup- port Liver-pool Football Club, but the 21-year-old – whose mother Denise comes from Dundee – considers himself as coming from north of the border.
"I was born in Liverpool but part of me still feels Scottish. I competed for Scotland at the North European Championships and I can compete for them in the Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow," he said.
Daniel Keatings, the 2010 European champion on pommel horse, would also have been in France this week but is recovering from an injury and Purvis paid tribute to his fellow-Scot for easing him through his first European Championship in Milan.
"I was 12th in the qualifying event so I didn't expect to finish so high. There was a big crowd for the finals and it was nerve-racking but my team-mates helped me out," he said.
"It was a great experience and Dan Keatings really helped me. He gave me advice throughout the finals which was great. He did really well, going on to win the silver medal and I was really happy for him."
Purvis credits the rise in British men's gymnastics to the Russian coaches brought in by the sport in 2006 to concentrate on world-class performance.
But it was a bar outwith the competitive arena that brought head coach Andrei Popov and Sergei Sizhanov into the media focus two years ago at the World Championships in Rotterdam. The coaches were caught up in an alleged drunken brawl with compatriots in a bar and were sent home and suspended on full pay.
That the British team, in their absence, went on to win a full set of medals – Beth Tweddle (gold), Smith (silver) and Purvis (bronze) in what was their most successful championships – spoke volumes for their preparation and both coaches remain in situ with British Gymnastics.
Under the regime, Purvis has won two European bronze medals (on floor and all-around) and a silver (team).
A golden touch in France this week would send out the necessary message ahead of the Olympics.
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