University News Last updated 13 May 2021
A Birmingham architecture student has designs on landing a place on Great Britain’s Gymnastic squad for the Tokyo Olympic Games, after switching his training from a specialist gym to his living room during the UK’s national lockdown.
21-year-old Joshua Nathan, a student at Birmingham City University, has spent years competing at the international level as a junior, in both the pommel horse and all-round gymnastics events, and is now hoping to achieve his dream of competing in the Olympics this summer.
Joshua, who lives in Sutton Coldfield, competed in his first senior event at the European Championships in Basel last month (April 2021), but now has ambitions of making the squad for gymnastics’ most prestigious event.
Having tailored his training to peak in the run up to the Games, Joshua’s regime was curtailed after the Covid-19 pandemic saw international travel banned and a list of elite sporting events slated for last summer postponed until 2021.
But after switching the gym for his living room, he had a pommel horse fitted in the family home to allow him to train throughout the Covid-19 restrictions and keep himself in peak condition whilst playing his part in slowing the spread of the virus.
Already boasting two gold medals from the Challenge World Cup, which he scooped in 2019, Joshua hopes to make the step up to join a select group of elite athletes competing at the Games.
Speaking about his ambitions to achieve his Olympic dream, the sacrifices of his family and training during a global pandemic, Joshua said: “My number one goal is my gymnastics career, I’m young and it doesn’t last forever.
“I used to live and train in Nottingham, but at the age of 11 my coach had to go back to America, so I was stuck without an Olympic club and the nearest one was Birmingham. So my family moved to Birmingham to allow me to follow my dreams, they’ve sacrificed a lot for my gymnastics.
“It’s been an unusual few years training for competitions in uncertain times. We had to have two months off in the first lockdown (March 2020). But there’s a training exemption at the moment, which allows us to come in and train as normal, which is great, but actually me and my teammates all took pommel horses home from the gym so we were using them in the living room or back garden for those two months.”
While training to compete on the international stage, Joshua has also been studying for his degree in Birmingham and spoke of the challenges of tackling deadlines for his course while keeping up his level of training.
He said: “Before uni I was training six hours Monday to Saturday, and had Sunday off. I now do half days on Tuesdays and Fridays. The University has been really helpful and adaptable, and don’t mind me moving things around for training. Outside of the gym on the other days, my days are pretty busy. After the gym I get home, catch up on uni work and lectures, watch my training back, so it’s very busy.
“I did have an essay due on the week of the European Championships but luckily managed to get an extenuating circumstances extension and managed to submit the essay. Luckily the lecturers were really understanding and supportive.”
Joshua has also been benefiting from University’s Sport Scholarship scheme, which allows elite students to connect with each other. He added: “I’ve met some of the other scholars, and the BCU Sport team. I enjoy hearing the mentality of the other athletes on the scholarship programme, we’re all at different levels but it’s really insightful to hear what motivates other people.”