Alex Loch of Maple has won several medals, over the years, in gymnastics - but what may be more impressive is his mettle to overcome visual impairment.

Loch has ‘rod monochromatism’, an eye disorder that allows the use of only rods in his eyes, instead of cones. "Rods are basically all your night vision and black and white vision. Cones are your day vision and colour vision. I don't have cones, so I'm always using my night vision and that causes complete colour blindness, sensitivity to light and I can't see very far," says Loch.

Loch's insight into the sport has come through years of practice and repetition. The 18-year-old set his sights on the Junior Olympic National Championships in Battle Creek, Michigan last month for his final competition. And he fared quite well. "I wasn't expecting to even really make it, so I was pretty happy I made it.“

As Loch looks to the future, he's putting to good use what he learned from his gymnastics past. "Definitely tried to achieve in gymnastics so I guess that kind of carries into every aspect of your life. I guess I'll end gymnastics and start something else new, so I have something to fill the void," he said.