England gymnast Louis Smith has revealed that he questioned whether to push himself with a harder routine or 'play it safe' minutes before his performance in the pommel horse final at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The 25-year-old, who has been performing in his first major competition since the London 2012 Olympics, managed to secure a bronze medal in this afternoon's final at the SSE Hydro with a score of 14.966.
Smith's England teammate Max Whitlock took silver, while Scotland's Dan Keatings stole the gold medal after scoring 16.058 for his performance.
"I think it was nice to medal, don't get me wrong, but I was happy that I got up there and did a new routine," Smith told Sports Mole. "I wasn't as fit at that routine as I should have been - I was a lot more stable with my other one.
"I was standing there just as I was about to do my routine and I was thinking to myself, even at that point - should I do it, or should I not? I could have played safe. Me, Dan and Max are kind of in a league of our own. I'm not being big-headed or nothing, but I could have done my easy routine and got guaranteed a medal, but I wanted to see where I was at, how my mind was, so I thought I'd go for my harder one.
"I kind of almost done it, but it was just brilliant. It was nice to test it out and nice to see where I am and show what I'm doing behind the scenes. I had great fun competing today."
Smith was also part of England's quintet, including Sam Oldham, Kristian Thomas, Nile Wilson and Whitlock, who scooped gold in the team event earlier this week.
Danielle Joynson
