The 20-year-old Scot from Kettering, told insidethegames before appearing on BBC Breakfast today that he believes Britain can make an impact at London 2012, where colleagues such as world floor champion Beth Tweddle and Louis Smith, the Olympic pommel horse bronze medallist in Beijing who took European silver behind him in Sunday’s competition at Birmingham will also aim to take part.

Keatings and his senior colleagues will miss this year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi because it is too will not be allowed to take part in Delhi because the event is too close to the World Championships, which open in Rotterdam three days after the Commonwealth Games finish on October 14.

In order to secure a team place at London 2012, Britain’s gymnasts have to start by qualifying in Rotterdam.

But the fact that they have such strong chances in both the men’s and women’s programmes, Keatings believes, is a testament to the progress British Gymnastics has made within the last decade

"It just shows the strength of the British team," he said.

"And it’s not just the seniors who are progressing - our junior gymnasts have done really well to win medals at the European Championships, and the gymnasts one level down from them have also done really well in recent international competitions.

For myself and Louis to come one and two in the pommel is unheard of, especially from Britain.

"It’s an amazing achievement, especially as I went into the competition hoping just to make the final.

"One thing Keatings - who enjoyed his first lot of media attention when he won the all-around silver medal at last year’s World Championships - is hoping will happen sooner rather than later is the plan to replace the gym in Huntingdon where he and Smith have trained since they were both seven years old.

"We have loads of people in the gym - schoolkids, mums, toddlers," Keatings said.

"We know it’s important to help fund the facility and the coaching, but it’s not ideal because often we have to wait until parts of the gym or pieces of equipment are clear before we can get on with our training.

"It’s good for the kids in the gym to train with us and to see what we are doing.

"But that does sometimes mean we have to wait to go on pieces of apparatus.

"Sometimes, for instance, the kids will be using the pommel horse, so we have to work on another element until it becomes free."

But whatever the environment, Keatings foresees his training partnership with Smith continuing.

"Louis and I have trained together since we were seven years old, and that has been very helpful to both of us,” he said.

"Sometimes Louis will see something good that I am doing and try to do it himself, and vice versa.

"Obviously there was some disappointment for him on Sunday as he had qualified in top place, but we are pleased for each other when we do well."

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