By Jason Hughes, PA International

England's golden boy Kanukai Jackson is hoping he can achieve for gymnastics what Olympic legend Steve Redgrave did for rowing.

The Londoner has been an undoubted star during the four days of competition at Manchester's G-Mex Centre, taking two golds and two silvers.

And he now believes his performances, along with those of an England team that picked up a total of nine medals, can inspire a new generation of gymnasts to take up the sport.

"Nobody cared less about rowing before Steve Redgrave came along," said the 24-year-old.

"I'm not saying that I am anything like Redgrave, but if I can go a small way to getting people into gymnastics then I would be doing my bit.

"There are a lot of talented people out there who could be good at gymnastics but they never think about taking it up or their parents never think about taking them to the local gym.

"Places like China and Russia do so well because they have so many people to select from.

"If I could help get more people in the gym then we would have a stronger base to choose from. I think that will only be better for the future of British gymnastics."

England's golden girl Beth Tweddle also believes people will be inspired by her performances.

The Liverpool teenager won gold on the uneven bars today to add to her silvers in the all-round and team events.

"Hopefully people will see it all on the television and realise it is a sport that you can enjoy," she said.

"It is tough at the higher levels but as we have shown this week it's worth it."

Only Jackson has outdone Tweddle on the medal count in the English team.

He competed in all six men's apparatus finals yesterday, and won silver on the vault and pommel horse.

The 24-year-old, however, was quick to deny that he was disappointed after experiencing his first gold-free day of the Games after success in the individual all-round and team events.

"It would have been the icing on the cake if I had won a gold, but it wasn't to be," he said.

"But how can I be disappointed with two golds and two silvers? It has been a great competition and I have performed as well as I could have expected."

Jackson's Games have been even more remarkable considering the injuries he has suffered over the past few years.

He missed the 1998 Commonwealth Games with a ruptured cruciate knee ligament and needed an operation in December to have fragments of bone removed from his ankle.

But Jackson is now looking forward to a rosy future and yet more success.

"My next ambition is to win a medal at the Olympics in Athens in two years' time," said the European bronze medallist.

"The best chance I would have at the minute would be in the vault but the way I have performed on the rings over the past few days then maybe, with a bit of work, I could be in contention in that as well."

The other success story of the final day of gymnastics action was Steve Frew, who is a team-mate of Jackson at the Harrow School of Gymnastics.

The Scotsman became his country's first gymnastic gold medallist in the Commonwealth Games after sharing the top podium from the rings final with Cypriot Herodotos Giorgalla.

But the 29-year-old, in his fourth Commonwealth games, later revealed he may be forced to turn his back on the sport because of lack of funding.

"I wanted to win a bronze so I could say, 'Look what I achieved without any funding', but I am glad that plan didn't work," he said.

"I have been a gymnast for 20 years and it has taken a long time, but I got there in the end."

"But I can't really continue under my own steam any more and this will be it unless somebody comes forward to help me financially."

However Jackson is hopeful that Frew can find a sponsor.

"If a gold medal in these Games is worth anything, then there has to be a way for Steve," he said.

"I am so glad that all his work and dedication has paid off."