"If you're nervous during a competition, it means that you haven't trained enough. The best way to avoid that mental stress is just to keep on training every day. Now I just hope all my hard work will pay off, as I really want to enjoy that feeling of satisfaction."

The teenager took up the sport at the age of three after his mother gave in to his requests to be taken to a local gymnastics club.

"I saw it and thought, 'I want to go there'," he said. "My mum enrolled me in some gymnastics classes. Since I was little I had the dream to compete at big events."

Just being in Buenos Aires represents a triumph of sorts for Kitazono, who almost didn't qualify for the competition due to an injury.

"I fractured my ankle after a bad landing during training back in 2017," he said. "I still struggled with it at our national trials for the Youth Olympic Games, but it feels better now. It feels good to be here and I hope I leave Buenos Aires with a good feeling.

"Gymnastics is my life, I am really enjoying it. To be honest, there is no me, myself without artistic gymnastics. Of course my main goal is Tokyo 2020, but I am seeing this as a huge opportunity. A first big step towards the main goal: winning gold in Tokyo. If I can win at Buenos Aires 2018, I can win in Tokyo."?

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