When Ruby Evans stepped onto the mat for her floor routine, she was angrier than she had ever been. Just days earlier, a silly mistake had cost her a chance at the all-around final at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Now she was determined to make it right — for herself, and for Wales.
She nailed it.
Evans scored 13.200 in the floor routine, good enough for gold. When the results came in, the Welsh national anthem played over the arena — the first time it had echoed through the stadium at these Games. Evans stood at the top of the podium, soaking in a moment she had dreamed about since she was a young girl.
"I was really excited to hear the national anthem," Evans said after the ceremony. "When something like that plays in your brain, you think 'my god I'd love that to happen.' I was so excited because I am so passionately Welsh."
The journey to gold had not been easy. Evans had performed well in the early rounds in Glasgow and qualified for the all-around final, but something went wrong when it mattered most.
"I did really well and I got through to the all-around final," Evans said. "That didn't go to plan and it was a very silly mistake, so I was really angry with that."
That frustration, she said, actually helped her. When she walked out for the floor routine, she knew exactly what she needed to do.
"So I knew when I came out here, I know I needed to do something for my country and that was the floor routine," Evans said. "I probably couldn't be happier. I couldn't have done any more on that floor and I knew whatever the result was after, I couldn't have done any better."
Now Evans is looking forward to celebrating — Welsh style.
"I will be just seeing family, maybe go for some food," she said, laughing. "I think there's tenpin bowling in Team Wales house. I think they want to do all that."
As for what comes next, Evans is simply glad to bring home the gold.
"I am just happy that it is a gold," she said.