He is no stranger to the Commonwealth Games scene, but Reiss Beckford is now competing under a different flag.

Born in England to a Jamaican father, Beckford, an artistic gymnast, announced his decision to switch allegiance to Jamaica in 2015 — a move which boosted his Olympic ambitions.

Prior to his switch, Beckford was a part of the team that won the silver medal in the men’s artistic all-around team event and silver again in the men’s individual all-around event and the men’s floor at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He last represented Great Britain in 2014.

Now Beckford is charting a course to leap into the spotlight as a member of Jamaica’s gymnastic team, and he is currently in the running to do so at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

The 26-year-old recovered from a bad start on the pommel horse to make the men’s individual all-around artistic final, which was scheduled to take place at Coomera Indoor Sports Centre yesterday (7:09 pm Jamaica time).

After pulling himself together, Beckford was overwhelmed by how things went in the end as for him, making the final is already a huge accomplishment.

“My competition went really well and I am super happy with my performance. I had a bit of a rough start on pommel horse because starting on the pommel horse is always a difficult apparatus. But I managed to stay on and my routines got better and better, and I finished on a really strong floor performance,” Beckford told the Jamaica Observer from Australia.

Taking a number of positives from the Games, Beckford is optimistic of maintaining his good form going forward.

“I am super happy and super proud to be out there representing Jamaica for the first time at the Commonwealth Games; it is an amazing achievement. Every step we make we are making history, and I am hoping in the next four years we will be able to have a full male and female team to represent Jamaica,” Reiss said with the excitement obvious in his voice.

“My role here is just to show the world that Jamaica’s gymnastics is here to stay and we are here fighting for a medal. So I know we have a really bright future because there are other great gymnasts coming through from Jamaica and that is absolutely fantastic.

“I also want to say a huge thank you to team Jamaica and the Jamaica Gymnastics Association, and everyone who has been supporting me in Jamaica. I wouldn’t be able to do it without you guys and I wouldn’t be here without your support. So I am super happy and I hope I have made you guys proud,” he ended.