Who is Louis Smith? Here are five things you never knew about the silver medal-winning Olympic gymnast
LOUIS SMITH has been hit with a two-month suspension by British Gymnastics after appearing to mock Islam.
The Rio 2016 silver medallist and former Strictly star, 27, landed the punishment while team-mate Luke Carson was reprimanded.
Here are five things you did not know about the silver medal-winning gymnast.
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1. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 6
In 1995 Louis was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and was on Ritalin from the ages of six to 11.
The condition causes people to struggle with inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness and usually is diagnosed during the years of six to 12-years-old when a child's circumstances change.
Louis Smith's mum Elaine took him to Huntingdon Gymnastics club, recalling that “It was a case of Louis running wild around the house and climbing everywhere or going somewhere more structured.”
While the drug was helpful, it was gymnastics that really focused Louis: "My mum took me to a variety of sports but from a young age it was gymnastics that captured my attention and which I really wanted to progress in," he explained.
2. One of his childhood friends is Ashton Merrygold from JLS
Louis and Ashton Merrygold, the former boy band member from JLS, both grew up in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.
The pair have been best friends since before they can remember and "spent most of their childhood playing Lego and PlayStation together," reports the Evening Standard.
3. Louis once auditioned for X Factor
A year after Louis was diagnosed with ADHD, the seven-year-old was offered a choral scholarship but he decided to focus on gymnastics instead.
But that wasn't the end of Louis Smith's singing career, as he admits he auditioned for the reality TV music competition The X Factor.
But, unfortunately for the Olympian, he didn't get very far, explaining that he voice wasn't right for the show because he has "a campfire voice" he explained to the Evening Standard.
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4. He learnt the pommel horse by using a bucket
Louis has won two Olympic silver medals while competing in the men's pommel horse competitions but he learnt to use the apparatus by using a bucket.
The pommel horse was originally used to help riders mount and dismount horses, with Alexander the Great apparently having two.
But now the metal body, which is covered with foam and leather and has plastic or metal handles, is used in gymnastics competitions.
But when Louis first started using the apparatus he learnt by putting his feet in a bucket that was tied to a rope and hung from the ceiling.
5. There's a reason Louis has a man bun
When Louis unveiled his new hair 'do Rio 2016, viewers took to Twitter to discuss their disgust for the athlete's man bun.
And when he crashed off the pommel horse dashing Team GB’s medal hopes in the men’s team gymnastics, it was his hairstyle that many people blamed.
But when asked about his man bun, Louis told Reuters the style was simply a matter of convenience: "I was growing it and I hadn’t put any hair spray in it for training so it was flopping around everywhere.
"I went to one of the girls in training and asked for a hairband and I just tied it up."