Commonwealth Games: Gymnastics bronze takes coach back to 98' glory

Bronze medal winner David Bishop of New Zealand. Photo / AP

There was an emotional flashback to Kuala Lumpur in 1998 as David Phillips watched his prized gymnast, David Bishop, step on to the podium in Glasgow.

Phillips won bronze in the men's floor competition at those Malaysian Games and -- after a 16-year medal drought for New Zealand gymnastics -- he watched on as proud coach while Bishop won the same medal in the same discipline.

It was a tearful moment for Phillips, who hopes the sport's moment in the sun can help generate new interest in gymnastics.

"It's like deja-vu," said Phillips. "It's like we've gone full circle. The whole scenario was so similar to when I competed.

"In Kuala Lumpur I was up early and, like David, I watched as athletes kept scoring less than me.

"We don't have a lot of heroes in our sport, so an occasion like this is huge for gymnastics. We don't get a lot of media and a lot of support; we just put our heads down and get on with things. So when an athlete like David delivers on the day, it's just incredible."

Bishop took a year out of his engineering degree at the University of Auckland to prepare for the Commonwealth Games. His bond with Phillips is extremely tight and now the 24-year-old is hoping to receive funding that would allow him to train and compete in Europe.

"David coached me when I was 7 and he was training for the Games," said Bishop.

"He was always a role model for me and to share this feat with him was amazing. There were a few tears on the inside. I am so passionate about it.

"After this year I want to be able to support myself for training and competition, rather than rely on my parents. Training costs more than $1000 quarterly to pay for the coaches and what not, plus you've got the cost of competitions in Europe and Asia.

"They can cost between $4000 and $7000. We usually manage one trip a year, but that's not really enough."