medium sizeAx Whitlock was warming up for the pommel horse final at the Paris Olympics when his South Korean rival Xu Xiong approached him and translated a message to his phone. “It is said that he has been watching me for more than ten years and he has learned a lot from me,” the 31-year-old said. “It’s a surreal feeling to compete with gymnasts who looked up to me when I was younger!”
Five days before we meet, Britain’s greatest gymnast will ride the pommel horse for the last time as the reigning Olympic champion. He wiped his hands, exhaled, and collapsed. His performance is as good as ever, spinning around the rig at breakneck speeds and wielding the giant scissor flares that have become his trademark. Only the tiniest mistake, a momentary spread of his legs, would cost him points.
This is no ordinary pommel horse final – this may be the greatest ever. Kazakh runner Nariman Kurbanov has achieved huge results, and American bespectacled expert Stephen Nedoroscik, dubbed the “Clark Kent” of the game, has achieved great results with his superhero The move won him a bronze medal. But Irish world champion Rhys McClenaghan took first place with a golden spin move.
When we spoke, Whitlock had returned from France less than 24 hours ago; his fourth-place finish was “still rough.” “I feel very lucky that people are celebrating my whole career, not just that moment,” he said at the gym in south Essex, which has been his base for the past two and a half decades. “It probably took me a little longer to get into that mindset.”
However, his podium finish deserves praise in itself. In 2016, at the age of 23, Whitlock became the first Olympic champion in British gymnastics history. Eight years removed from his physical peak and four months after a hand injury severely hampered his preparation, he appeared in Paris trying to become the first gymnast to win medals in four consecutive competitions on the same apparatus. . He was just 0.1 points away from achieving that goal.
When he retired—for good this time—Whitlock’s legacy was unparalleled. His 14 world championships and Olympic medals made the impossible possible for all who followed him. He talks about the sport having been on an “upward trajectory” since London, when he was part of the team that won Britain’s first team gymnastics medal in a full century, but you could say he has been rocket fuel. In 2015, he became the first Briton to win the world title: three of his compatriots have since achieved the honour.
He did it all in his own quiet way: his coach, Scott Hann, describes him as a “organized, calm, down-to-earth guy.” As a teenager, he was too shy to go to the corner store to buy chocolates, and the experience of being often ignored fueled his determination. He won a pommel horse bronze medal in London after a selector told him he wouldn’t be selected for the team. He won an Olympic gold medal on the field despite being told the event wasn’t for him. “We were doing all these jumping tests in the gym and I was the worst of all the lads,” Whitlock said. “So it didn’t occur to me at all.”
In that Rio final, he had no idea he was in the lead. Whitlock never liked to watch the routines of other competitors, so he sat down with his head “down” and mentally prepared for the pommel horse finals to be held in the evening. He didn’t see Japanese favorite Kenzo Shirai fall. “I remember it very clearly. Scott hit me hard on the leg and said, ‘Max, you’re an Olympic champion!’
An hour later, Whitlock repeated the maneuver on the pommel. Silver medalist Louis Smith was in tears on the podium, but the pair have maintained their rivalry is friendly. “With guys like Louis and Dan Keatings, we are a strong nation in this regard,” Whitlock said. “Everyone is pushing each other – if you want to compete with the rest of the world, you need competition within the team.” Shifting the spotlight to Smith’s big personality may also help: “It almost gives me a shoulder to have without pressure. place.”
The more important figure was Hann, who molded him into a gymnast from the age of 12. Whitlock failed to win the 2014 World Championships in China. “Jet differences mean none of us can go home and talk to our families,” Hann said. “Then Max had a chance to get back into the game because one of the Englishmen was injured.”
Whitlock, then 21, initially refused: “I do things based on what I think is right, and morally speaking, I feel like I shouldn’t do it.” It was Hann who convinced him, and Whitlock competed in the all-around Won a silver medal. “This is the biggest score I’ve ever achieved, second only to my idol Kohei Uchimura, who is the best gymnast of all time.”
The trust that Whitlock and Hann built bore more fruit at the next year’s Worlds, when Smith posted a seemingly unbeatable run. Whitlock’s plan was to perform his simplest routine — the only one they practiced, Hann said. “I said, ‘Max, do you want to try and win this race today, or do you just want to get a medal?'” From the cold start, Whitlock began a tough training session. He won the gold medal, 0.1 points ahead of Smith.
After twenty years together, Hann and Whitlock knew each other “completely” – Whitlock was married to Hann’s wife’s sister. “There were some challenging parts at the beginning,” said Whitlock, who has dated Leah Hickton since they were 14. Very interesting thing.
“There’s no doubt I wouldn’t have gotten these results without Scott. He cares about me not only as an athlete, but as a person, which is unbelievable. As I get older, it’s even more It’s like a partnership rather than a coach-athlete relationship and I’m very grateful for that – a transition that many coaches struggle with as their athletes get older.
Flexibility is the secret to their success. When Whitlock contracted glandular fever in 2015, they found themselves tearing up training manuals over and over again. “I’d be in the gym swinging my arms for 15 minutes, and they would weigh a ton,” Whitlock said. “I can never train the same way again.”
Before the Tokyo Olympics, he gave up the idea of defending his free pool title because the time spent doing it was affecting his pommel horse work. While preparing for the tournament in Paris, he reduced his training time from 36 hours a week to 16 hours However, Hann said, “He’s the healthiest, most consistent player he’s been since he was young.”
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timeTwo days after the closing ceremony in Paris, a group of Olympians were hanging out at a youth club in Paddington North. Rower Lola Anderson dunks a basketball with a gold medal around her neck. Boxer Lewis Richardson watches a group of teenagers practice boxing. A dozen excited kids are throwing tennis balls at diver Noah Williams.
Whitlock is also here, taking part in a National Lottery-funded initiative for athletes to give back to the communities that support them. He seemed in good graces, switching seamlessly between media duties, hugging and chatting with 2012 rowing gold medalist Katherine Grainger, chairman of UK Sport. Passionate about gymnastics as a fundamental sport, he was introduced to the sport by a swimming friend when he was eight years old, “completely by luck”.
The athletes he admires most are those he met during his long career, such as Jessica Ennis-Hill, Tom Daley and Helen Glover, because of “the way they carry themselves, the way they carry themselves. Everything your own movement does”. His next focus was “expanding his influence as an athlete” by setting up a company to make gymnastics more accessible in primary schools.
He knows how important the new project is. He retired from the sport for the first time after the Tokyo Olympics, triggering a mental health crisis. For three months, he was depressed, exhausted, unmotivated and unable to get off the couch—and this time, returning to the gym was no longer an option. “I definitely learned a lot from that experience,” Whitlock said. “I need to set goals for myself — as a person, I’m a goal-driven person.”
He’s clearly values-driven too, and you wonder how he feels about the culture of abuse that has emerged in the sport over the past few years, especially with the stories of Team GB athletes like Becky Downey and Nile Wilson. “Based on their experience, this statement is important. If something is wrong, it needs to change. That’s what I love about helping the grassroots: I want people to have the same experience I have. I’ve talked to a lot of athletes in different disciplines and they all say they want their kids to get into gymnastics – This is the best all-around sport.
His five-year-old daughter Willow is in class; one of the things he looks forward to most is participating in all her pursuits. “There’s no doubt that returning to exercise is harder for mums, but I do find it difficult to be away from it for so long. I even have to be careful with basic things like not holding Willow for too long when we go for a walk, Because my arms will be exhausted the next day and that doesn’t matter now.
There’s also the opportunity to explore activities and opportunities that he never would have been exposed to while playing. Smith wins strictly After retiring, Wilson wins ice dancing;Will Whitlock be able to use his acrobatic skills in new areas soon? “What I’m going to say right now is, I’m definitely not a dancer,” he said with a smile. “I had zero rhythm.”
Regardless, the audience that meant the most to him was the one who gathered at Basie Arena to watch his swan song: eight members of his family, including Leah and Willow. “We all know this is the last part of a 24-year long chapter and we appreciate these little moments more than usual. It’s great to be able to look up in the stands and see my family real It feels good.
The ChangeMaker Initiative is a partnership between: national lotteryOperators Allwyn, Team GB, ParalympicsGB and UK Sport support UK athletes to make a positive impact on social impact projects they are passionate about
