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MAX WHITLOCK

26th November 2014
Posted by Danny Lawrence

Max Whitlock is a multi-Olympic, World and European medal-winning British Artistic Gymnast, who won two Bronze medals at the London 2012 Olympics. At the age of just 21, Max has amassed an incredible 18 major championship medals and looks set to continue his tally up to Rio 2016 and beyond.

Max burst on to the scene in 2010; picking up three medals in his first major competition at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, and was then made a travelling reserve for the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo.

At this first Olympic Games in 2012, Max won Bronze on the Pommel Horse and in the Team competition – the first British men’s team to win a medal at an Olympic games in 100 years. Later that year, Max was also part of the pioneering British men’s team, who won Gold at the 2012 European Championships.

More success followed and, in 2013, Max became English and British All-Around Champion and won Gold, Silver and Bronze at the European Championships. At the World Championships that year, Max took Silver on the Pommel Horse and came fourth in the All-Around competition.

2014 was another standout year for Max. He won his second British All-Around title, along with European Gold on the Pommel Horse and Silver in the Team competition. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Max won a phenomenal five medals, including three Gold in the Team, Floor and All-Around competitions, making him England’s most decorated Commonwealth gymnast.

It looked like Max’s incredible run of medals was coming to an end, when he failed to qualify for the finals of the 2014 World Championships. However, he picked himself and helped the team to finish fourth, the best-ever performance by a British men’s team at World level.

But more was to come from Max. His team-mate, Nile Wilson, was injured and withdrew from the competition, meaning Max automatically qualified for a place in the All-Around final. Max put in an incredible performance, eventually coming second to his idol, five-time World All-Round Champion, Kōhei Uchimura. Max scored 90.473 across all six pieces of apparatus and was the closest in points that any gymnast has got to Uchimura; widely regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all-time.

Away from the gym, Max is a supporter of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Charity Redevelopment Appeal and an ambassador for Nissan and Fitness First.

Max-Whitlock-pomell-London-2012

He spoke to Danny on Drive time