Welsh boxing star Sean McGoldrick is a two-time medal winner at the Commonwealth Games and as the countdown starts to Birmingham 2022 he offers a simple recipe for success.
The next edition of the Games is just eight months away and every Welsh hopeful is searching for the right approach towards peaking next July.
Bantamweight McGoldrick won gold in 2010 in Delhi and backed that up with a bronze in Glasgow four years later.
Following in his footsteps, Wales won four medals in boxing at the Gold Coast in 2018. Sammy Lee and Lauren Price both struck gold whilst Rosie Eccles and Mickey McDonagh won silver and bronze respectively.
Next year, Wales will be hoping for even more medals. Likely team members searching for silverware in the ring include brothers Ioan and Garan Croft, Taylor Bevan and the experienced Eccles.
The Welsh Olympic heroine Lauren Price could also look to defend her Commonwealth gold medal if she decides to remain as an amateur.
McGoldrick says the key behind his success lay in a simple but often neglected foundation.
“My biggest advice to anyone going to the Commonwealth Games is to simply enjoy it,” he says.
“How far I’ve come since I started boxing is nothing short of a miracle in my mind.
“I’m usually the type of person to look forward but whenever I do look back, I think some of my proudest moments in boxing have come at the Commonwealth Games.
“People always used to tell me to enjoy it but when you’re looking to win you sometimes forget about that part.
“A few people told me to use my first Commonwealths to get experience and enjoy it but in my head all I wanted to do was win.
“But it’s all about balance. If you have a winning mentality but you also enjoy what you are doing, it will bring you a lot of success.”
McGoldrick, who now boxes professionally under the management of MTK Global, initially won silver in 2010 but was upgraded to gold after his Sri Lankan opponent Manju Wanniarachchi failed a drugs test.
Alongside enjoying the journey, he says every athlete in the Wales squad should try to grow their self-belief.
“At my first Commonwealth Games, I can guarantee no one expected me to medal,” adds the 29-year-old.
“Not that no-one believed in me, but I was by far one of the least experienced on the team.
“If you are a young fighter going to the Games, all that matters is you believe you can go and win.
“It’s not about winning a medal, it’s about winning a gold medal. That’s the important mentality to have.
“It doesn’t matter about the draw. I faced the world bronze medallist and an Olympic silver medallist.
“I met some fighters who were much better than me on paper, but I still beat them so mindset is everything.”
