COMMONWEALTH Games champion and two-time European gold medallist Daniel Keatings has announced his retirement from competitive gymnastics.

The Scot played a major role in Great Britain’s rise to become a powerhouse on the world gymnastics stage.

Keatings, 27, recorded a number of historic firsts for GB throughout his career including winning a world all-around silver medal in 2009 and European gold on the pommel horse in 2010, a title he reclaimed again in 2013.

He was an integral part of the Team Scotland effort that won team silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with Keatings also claiming all-around silver and pommel horse gold.

He scored 16.058 to win the pommel horse title seeing off the challenge of reigning Olympic champion Max Whitlock and two-time silver medallist Louis Smith.

Highlights of his career include competing at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, although Keatings missed out on London 2012 due to injury.

In recent years, Keatings has gone on to carve a successful career as a BBC pundit and provided coverage during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

While in the short term he plans to take a break, Keatings indicated that he would return to gymnastics in some capacity in the future.

In a statement issued by British Gymnastics he said: “I want to say a huge thank you for following and supporting me throughout my whole career.

“Your support has been incredible and I feel sad that I'm finishing but I think my time is now up.

“My face will still be around and I'm excited to see what heights the younger generation can take British Gymnastics to.”