A veteran of the sport, Adam Cox has been competing for almost twenty years in men’s artistic gymnastics. His first Commonwealth Games was in Manchester in 2002 and he went on to win a bronze medal at Melbourne 2006 Games on the Horizontal Bar. He also qualified for 2010, but withdrew at the last minute following the departure of his long-term coach and mentor.

Now qualified as a PE teacher and recently married, Adam has returned to the sport he loves and his determination to be part of Team Scotland at Glasgow 2014 is greater than ever. He has recently regained the title of Scottish Individual All-Around Champion and is one step closer to achieving his goal.

In July, he was invited to take an exclusive tour of the Athlete’s Village and assess how it is shaping up, with just one year to go until 4,500 athletes from across the Commonwealth move into their temporary home.

Q: What do you hope to compete in at Glasgow 2014?

AC: If I qualify I will be competing in the men’s artistic gymnastics team and individual events on the six pieces of apparatus: Floor, Pommel Horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar.

Q: What do you like most about the Athletes’ Village?

AC: The Village is like your home away from home, so it needs to be right for the athletes. You are preparing for one of the major competitions of your life, so there’s a lot of stress and pressure and you really want to come home to somewhere that you can feel relaxed and where everyone else is around supporting you.

Q: How does the Glasgow Village compare to others you have stayed in?
Here they are actual houses on individual streets instead of apartment buildings, and I like the community vibe here. The houses have big spacious bedrooms and natural light. I like the way the beds have been situated, so I can shout across to the person sharing the room with me! From the look of it, this is going to set the mark for future Commonwealth Games Villages to live up to.

Q: How do you feel about the Games with the “one year to go” mark coming up?

AC: Seeing the Village sets the excitement going. It’s all coming alive, and the Village looks really well on track to be ready.

Q: Will you be a good person to room with and would you describe yourself as a “neat freak”?

AC: No, I am definitely not a neat freak, but there is a limit to the amount of mess I can have around before I tidy. Luckily, my wife’s limit is slightly lower than mine so mess is usually cleaned up before it’s an issue for me!

Q:Do you have any pre-competition rituals or superstitions?

AC: Not anything too exciting. I like to mentally rehearse my routines before I go to sleep the night before a competition. Also, when warming up for the floor I like to be the last person to finish before we start to compete.

Q: What do you have for your last meal before a competition?

AC: It depends on what time I’m competing. If it’s a morning competition I will just have a bowl of cereal, cup of tea, some fruit and some toast and jam then some sweets while competing. If it’s an afternoon competition same breakfast then at lunch I will have a glass of milk, sandwich, yogurt and some fruit.

Q: What is your favourite song to warm up to?

AC: I don’t have a set playlist I always listen to; it’s just what I like at the time. Right now it’s a three-way tie between Avicii – “Wake Me Up”, Mumford & Sons – “I Will Wait”, and Fuse ODG – “Antenna”.

Q: When you are not training or competing, what are you doing?

AC: If it’s during term time I will be teaching PE in primary schools. During the holidays, I like to spend time with my wife and close friends and play a bit of golf if the weather is good. Most likely, I will be sitting in front of my beautiful 1930’s baby grand piano that I named Alison, having a wee sing song!

Q: What is something many people may not know about you?

AC: I talk in my sleep. There are very few nights when I don’t talk in my sleep, and sometimes I even go for a walk!
Good luck to Adam on his journey to Glasgow 2014.

You can follow Adam on Twitter @adamcox131186

Photo Credit: CGS