As a nine-year-old boy, Reuben Ward watched on with his eyes wide open as Dan Keatings won Commonwealth Games gymnastics gold for Scotland in 2014.
Twelve years on, the whole nation could not take theirs off him as he made a piece of national history.
Ward somersaulted his way to the all-around title at the Emirates Arena, blowing the roof off as he became the first man from Scotland to take the coveted crown in the 96-year history of the Games.
The 21-year-old led for the majority of the event and held off Canada’s Felix Dolci by just 0.2 points, before being serenaded by bagpipes against the backdrop of saltire flags.
His win marked Scotland’s third gold of the Games, following Duncan Scott and Faye Rogers in the swimming pool on Friday.
Ward punched the air and leapt into the arms of his coach Jake Seager when the final result came through, his victory a realisation of all the promise he showed as a junior when winning Scottish titles at every age group.
He has been waiting for a breakthrough moment on the senior circuit. That it came at the very same place where, at the 2014 Games, he was inspired to pursue it as a serious career made it that much sweeter.
“Everyone around me was jumping, screaming and celebrating. I've never experienced emotions like that before,” he said.
“Then standing in front of the crowd with the Scottish flag over my shoulders, just taking it all in, was incredible.
“I'm so proud to have shown that Scottish gymnastics is a force to be reckoned with.
“We're on the rise. We've got a fantastic team, great coaches and a really bright future.
“I've always wanted to inspire younger gymnasts as well, and I hope I've done that today.
“I'm incredibly proud and incredibly grateful.
"To be here now is spectacular. It's such a full-circle moment after seeing Dan win on the pommel. Glasgow and East Kilbride have been like second homes to me my entire life so to do it here is incredibly special."
Ward’s win was a much-needed boost for the gymnastics programme after the sickening fall suffered by England’s Gabriel Langton on Friday.
Langton slipped from the high bar, fell three metres and landed head first during the team final on Friday.
He received treatment for 30 minutes from up to a dozen medical staff before being stretchered off and taken to hospital, with his head and neck in a brace.
After a night in hospital, he was cleared of serious injury and was back at the Emirates Arena to support his English teammates Luke Whitehouse and Adam Tobin.
Ward represents Scotland through his parents, Brendan and Lisa, who are from East Kilbride, but he was born in Bury, trains in Manchester and is a teammate of Langton’s on the British squad.
“I've known Gabe since he was about 15,” he said.
“We competed together at the Junior European Championships in 2022, and he's become a great friend.
“Seeing him lying on the floor after his fall was really frightening.
“When the physio came over and said, "Do it for Gabe," I think three of us on Team Scotland started crying, myself included.
“Seeing him back at the team hotel that evening and then seeing him in the arena today supporting us was brilliant. I'm just so relieved he's okay.
“To think that, within two days, he'd gone through something so traumatic and was already back supporting Team Scotland, Team England and everyone else was amazing. I'm just so happy he's doing well.”
Ward was almost flawless here, with excellent performances on his favourite pommel horse, vault and parallel bars.
He sat seventh after the floor exercise, but streaked into the lead after a splendid performance on the pommel - his strongest event.
He benefited from a Team Scotland appeal to add an extra 0.100 to his parallel bars routine to take a 0.550 lead into the final routine on the high bar, meaning he had margin for error.
Across the six apparatus, which also included the floor and rings, he scored 79.650.
Australia’s Jesse Moore was his likeliest rival for the final rotation but made a mistake at the beginning of his floor routine, sending the crowd wild.
“It was constantly resetting my mind,” Ward added.
“Whenever I felt my thoughts drifting towards things I didn't need to be thinking about, I'd ask myself, "What should I be focusing on right now?"
“It's a constant battle, but it keeps you grounded and locked into the process.
“That's what I did today, and thankfully I managed to keep my nerve and perform when it mattered most.”
Ward is now targeting back-to-back golds.
He takes on Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan in the pommel horse individual final today.
He has a chance against McClenaghan, the Northern Irishman who has dominated this event for the past five years.
“Rhys has achieved everything I want to achieve in the sport,” Ward added. "He's competed at the Commonwealth Games, European Championships, World Championships and Olympic Games.
“He's a fantastic gymnast, but if I perform my routine to the best of my ability, I'm confident I can challenge.
“It'll be a great competition.”
It means the celebrations are on hold but Ward is certainly keen to explore Glasgow’s famous nightlife.
“Tonight, I'll probably just watch a bit of TikTok, drink plenty of water and relax,” he added.
“I've still got a more to do on Tuesday, so the celebrations will have to wait.
“After Tuesday, though, we'll celebrate properly. If anyone sees us out in Glasgow, come and say hello.
“[Teammate] Pavel [Karnejenko] lives in Glasgow, so he's promised to show us around.
“I've spent plenty of time here growing up, but never really experienced Glasgow properly as an adult, so I'll let him lead the way.”
After creating a piece of Scottish history, Ward is leading the way too.
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