JAY Thompson will be out to prove a point when he competes in the British Championships this weekend.

The South Essex Gymnastic star will be taking part in his first all round competition since recovering from a dislocated elbow.

And the 18-year old, who lives in Bowers Gifford, is eager to impress.

“This will be my first all round competition I have done since the injury and my first since the European Championships last May so I want to go there and post a score to show that I am coming back and that I mean business too,” said Thompson.

“I’m not too fazed about the score, I just want to prove myself again.”

Thompson confirmed his return to form and fitness by winning a bronze medal on the floor at the English Championships held at Loughborough a fortnight ago.

And he is delighted to be back in action after a long and often frustrating spell on the sidelines.

“It’s been seven months since the injury now and it’s been quite a struggle to be honest,” said Thompson.

“I did a move on the floor but I ended up landing on a straight arm and it ended up popping through.

“I snapped everything off which wasn’t the nicest of things and I had to have four months off doing nothing.

“It was horrible and the worst injury I’ve ever had.

“I went from doing more than 30 hours of training a week to doing around an hour a day so it was tough.

“But it’s great to be back now because I had missed it like mad and, if anything, some parts of my gymnastics are better now than they were before.”

Thompson certainly showed that was the case by impressing at the English Championships.

And the performances also helped to restore the teenager’s confidence which had been affected by the injury.

“A major part of competing again was getting my confidence back because it’s always in the back of your head that the arm is going to collapse or really hurt again.

“But I had so much support from the physios that it’s helped me come back even stronger.

“My coach Scott Hann has been a huge help too and I was really pleased with how it went at Loughborough after we had worked so hard together.

“It was good to go out and perform well and I didn’t really mind about getting a medal, it was just being back out there that mattered to me.”

Thompson is now aiming to keep on improving and he is also determined to earn more international call ups.

“I want to get my routines back to what they were before the injury and I also want to represent Great Britain again this year,” said Thompson.

“It would be great to do the European Games.

“I know that will be difficult but it’s something I’m really aiming for. “