Sam Dick isn't taking his dream opportunity to represent New Zealand at the Youth Olympics lightly.
Large training academies, with hundreds of young prospects have allowed the nations of China, England and the USA to dominate the sport of gymnastics.
In just three weeks, young kiwi gymnast Dick will take on those prodigies at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
"I don't really want to go there just to participate," Dick said. "I want to win a medal.
"There'll be a lot of big countries definitely - it just motivates me to try even harder.
The 16-year-old is gunning for gold on rings, an apparatus he won at the Pacific Rim Championships earlier this year.
Dick's coach, David Phillips, admits winning is what drives Dick to train 30 hours a week.
"He's definitely a finals prospect, all of his results so far put him in contention," Phillips said.
Gymnastics runs thought Dick's blood. He's been training since he was five years old, alongside his biggest inspiration - big brother Ethan - who competed at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year.
"He's so close to me. We've trained together our whole lives and to watch him on the world stage, doing as well as he did, it's awesome."
Ethan Dick is pretty proud his younger brother is following in his footsteps.
"I'll watch every time he competes on TV… I'm sure he'll be great," he said.
Because they prepare in the humble training environments of New Zealand, the brothers admit a healthy sibling rivalry has fuelled their growth in the sport.
"We did compete against each other for a couple years,” said Ethan Dick.
"I did get nervous competing against him, just because he's my younger brother, you know. I can't let my younger brother beat me."
While other competitors will carry the weight of an academy full of athletes behind them, Sam Dick will carry the weight of his family's support in Buenos Aires.
"Little New Zealand, people aren't expecting much,” he said. “If I go there and do well, maybe I'll get New Zealand on the map."
Newshub.
