Max Antony Whitlock (born 13 January 1993) is an English

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...

. With fourteen medals and six titles in Olympic and World Championships, Whitlock is the most successful gymnast in British history. He is also the most successful

pommel horse The pommel horse, also known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal bo ...

worker in Olympic Games history, with two gold medals and one bronze. Whitlock is a six-time Olympic medallist (all-around, team, floor exercise and three times on his signature piece, pommel horse), winning three golds and three bronzes, and a five-time world medallist on the pommel horse with three gold and two silvers. He became Great Britain's first-ever Olympic gold medallist in artistic gymnastics when he won both the floor exercise and pommel horse at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is a four-time European champion and a four-time

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

champion representing

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Early life

Whitlock was born in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, on 13 January 1993. He was introduced to gymnastics by a friend from a swimming club when he was seven and joined the Sapphire School of Gymnastics in Hemel Hempstead. When he was twelve, his coach Klemen Bedenik returned to

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, and Whitlock followed him to

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

to continue training. He returned three months later and joined South Essex Gymnastics Club in

Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...

, where he is coached by his brother-in-law Scott Hann. Whitlock's wife, Leah, has also worked as a coach at the club. He attended Longdean School in Hemel Hempstead.

Career

2010–11

Whitlock won gold on

and floor exercise and silver in the all-around at the 2010 Junior European Championships held in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. In October, he was part of the team that won the silver medal for

at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

. He also won the silver medal on the

and a bronze medal on the

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syst ...

. Whitlock was an alternate for the British men's team at the 2011 World Championships in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

2012

Whitlock was selected for the British team that competed at the Olympic Test Event, the final opportunity to qualify for the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. The British team won the event and qualified as a team for the Olympic Games for the first time since 1992. He won the silver medal in the pommel horse final behind teammate Louis Smith. In March, he won the bronze medal on the pommel horse at the Cottbus World Challenge Cup. He competed with the British team that won the gold medal at the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

. This was the first time the British men's team had won team gold at a major championship. Individually, Whitlock qualified for the pommel horse final, where he finished in sixth place. Whitlock represented

Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012 as the host nation and the team of selected athletes was o ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

alongside Smith,

Sam Oldham Sam Joshua Oldham (born 17 February 1993) is a retired English artistic gymnast who represented Great Britain. He was part of the British men's team at the 2012 Summer Olympics that won bronze in the team competition. He is also a three-time j ...

Daniel Purvis Daniel Scott Purvis (born 13 November 1990 in Crosby, England) is a Scottish former international elite artistic gymnast, and three-time British all-around champion in men's artistic gymnastics. He trained at Southport YMCA and was coached by J ...

, and

Kristian Thomas Kristian James Thomas (born 14 February 1989 in Wolverhampton) is a British former artistic gymnast. A long-standing member of both the England and Great Britain men's teams, he was a member of the British team that won gold in the 2012 Europe ...

. The team initially finished second in the team final, but the Japanese team submitted an inquiry that raised their score, so the British team received the bronze medal. This was the first time the British men's team had won an Olympic medal since 1912. He also won the bronze medal in the pommel horse event final behind Hungary's

Krisztián Berki Krisztián Berki (; born 18 March 1985 in Budapest) is a former Hungarian artistic gymnast. He is a pommel horse specialist. In 2016 a pommel horse element of difficulty level 'E' was named after him. Sports career He is the 2012 Olympic Cha ...

and teammate Smith.

2013

Whitlock began the season at the

Internationaux de France The Grand Prix de France is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the French Federation of Ice Sports () (FFIS). The first iteration of the Grand Prix de France was h ...

where he won the silver medal on the pommel horse behind Olympic champion

. He then competed at the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In the all-around final, he won the silver medal behind

David Belyavskiy David Sagitovich Belyavskiy ( rus, Давид Сагитович Белявский, , dɐˈvʲid bʲɪˈlʲafskʲɪɪ̯; born 23 February 1992) is a Russian artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian, representing Russia at the 2016 Summer Olympi ...

. He then won Great Britain's first European floor title by tying with Israel's

Alexander Shatilov Alexander "Alex" Shatilov (, ; born March 22, 1987) is a USSR-born Israeli artistic gymnast. He specializes in the floor exercise, in which he won several medals at World and European Championships, reached the finals at the 2008 and 2012 Summe ...

. Then in the pommel horse final, he won the bronze medal. At the Anadia World Challenge Cup, he was upset in the pommel horse final by Colombia's Jhonny Perez. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, Whitlock finished fourth in the all-around final, only 0.300 behind the bronze medalist. Then in the pommel horse final, he tied for the silver medal with Mexico's Daniel Corral.

2014

At the

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Whitlock and his Great Britain teammates won the team silver medal behind Russia. In event finals, he won the gold medal in pommel horse ahead of the defending Olympic champion

. He also finished fifth in the floor exercise final. At the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

, Whitlock and his England teammates won the team gold. In the all-around final, Whitlock won the gold medal with a score of 90.631 points. Whitlock won his third gold in the floor exercise final. He took silver in the pommel horse final and bronze in the parallel bars final. Whitlock was chosen to compete for Great Britain at

Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...

, China. During the qualification round, he had a fall on the floor exercise and costly errors on the pommel horse. He did not qualify for any of the individual finals, including the all-around due to the two-per-country rule as he finished behind teammates

and

Nile Wilson Nile Michael Wilson (born 17 January 1996) is a former British artistic gymnast. He won an Olympic bronze medal in the men's horizontal bar at the 2016 Summer Olympics; he was a world medallist as a member of the silver-medal winning British ...

. In the team final, he helped the British team finish fourth which was at the time Great Britain's best-ever team finish at the

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for artistic gymnastics governed by the International Gymnastics Federation, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The first edition of the championships was held ...

. After the team competition, Wilson pulled out of the all-around competition due to a wrist injury, allowing Whitlock to replace him in the final. He won the silver medal with a score of 90.473, just under a point and a half behind defending Olympic all-around champion Kohei Uchimura.

2015

Due to illness, Whitlock only competed on pommel horse at the British Championships, where he won the silver medal behind Louis Smith. After the competition, Whitlock was found to have been suffering from glandular fever. Despite this, Whitlock was chosen to compete at the

, but he only competed on the floor and pommel horse. However, he did not qualify for any event finals. After the European Championships, his coach announced Whitlock would take a break from training to recover. In May, Whitlock announced on his Twitter he had returned to training. Whitlock competed with the British men's team at the

in Glasgow, Scotland. After some minor mistakes in the qualification rounds, he tied for a place in the final with teammate

, but with the tiebreaker rules applied, Whitlock won the place in the individual all-around final. The men's team, which included

, Louis Smith, Brinn Bevan, Nile Wilson and alternate James Hall, became the first British men's team to win a medal in the at a

, winning silver behind Japan. During the all-around final, Whitlock finished fifth after falling off the horizontal bar. He won the silver medal on the floor exercise behind Kenzo Shirai. Then in the pommel horse final, he became the first British man ever to win a World Championship gold medal, by 0.100 over teammate Smith.

2016

Whitlock competed at the Glasgow World Cup and won the all-around with a total score of 89.299. He had the highest scores of the competition on floor and pommel horse, and he came second on vault and high bar. In May, Whitlock withdrew from the

due to a virus. On 12 July 2016, Whitlock was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics, along with Louis Smith,

and Brinn Bevan. The British team finished fourth in the team final. He won a bronze medal in the all-around final, Great Britain's first medal in this Olympic event for 108 years. He later went on to win the gold in the floor exercise, becoming the first British gymnast to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Within two hours, he won a second gold in the

. He took three months off from training after the Olympic Games.

2017

In March, Whitlock announced that he would take six months off from competition, missing the London World Cup and the

. He returned to competition at the

but only competed on the pommel horse and floor exercise. Although he fell on the floor exercise during the qualification round, he qualified for the pommel horse final. He became the first British gymnast to successfully defend a World title when he won the pommel horse final.

2018

At the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

, Whitlock was part of the team that won gold in the team event. However, he failed to defend his individual titles in the Games; he sat out the individual all-around competition, finished sixth on the

floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from wikt:hovel, simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the ex ...

, and won silver on the

behind

Rhys McClenaghan Rhys Joshua McClenaghan (born 21 July 1999) is an artistic gymnast from Northern Ireland who competes internationally both for Ireland and Northern Ireland. McClenaghan is widely recognised as one of the best pommel horse specialists of his ge ...

. At the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Whitlock won a silver as part of the British team. However, an error in his routine on the pommel horse caused him to finish seventh in the event final. At the 2018 World Championships in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, Whitlock was a member of the British team that finished fifth. He failed to win a third consecutive pommel gold at the World Championship, despite receiving the same score of 15.166 as the winner Xiao Ruoteng. He lost the tiebreaker and finished in second place due to a lower execution mark.

2019

After failing to win gold at the European Championships in 2018, Whitlock regained his gold on pommel horse at the 2019 European Championships held in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. At the

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Whitlock fell on the pommel horse during the team final where the British team finished fifth. In the event finals, he recovered from an early mistake to win his third World gold on the pommel horse.

2021

Whitlock returned to competition at the

, his first competition in 18 months due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. However, he fell off the pommel horse during the qualification round and missed the final. At the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, Japan, Whitlock competed for Great Britain alongside

Joe Fraser Joe Fraser (born 6 December 1998) is an English artistic gymnast. He is the 2022 European all-around and parallel bars champion and the 2019 world champion on the parallel bars. He is the first British gymnast to ever win gold in these event ...

, James Hall, and Giarnni Regini-Moran. The team took fourth place with a score of 255.76. Whitlock opted not to defend the floor exercise title, concentrating instead on the pommel horse, which he went on to win with a score of 15.583.

2022–23

Whitlock took over one year off from training after the Olympic Games and did not compete at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

or the 2022 World Championships. Instead, he joined the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's coverage of the gymnastics events at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. He was scheduled to return to competition at the 2023 European Championships, but he had to withdraw due to an injury. He was selected for the 2023 World Championships team alongside Jake Jarman, James Hall, Harry Hepworth and Courtney Tulloch. The team finished fourth in the team final. During the pommel horse final, Whitlock fell and finished fifth.

2024

In 2024 Whitlock announced that Paris 2024 would be his final Olympics. In June he was officially selected to represent Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics alongside

, Jake Jarman, Harry Hepworth, and Luke Whitehouse. They came fourth in the team competition. Whitlock qualified for the pommel horse final where he was attempting to become the first male gymnast to medal at four successive games on a single apparatus but he finished fourth.

Awards and honours

Whitlock finished seventh in the public vote for the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, and he finished eighth in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. He received the

Longines Prize for Elegance The Longines Prize for Elegance is an award given by Longines to a male and female currently at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. The winners receive a trophy, a cheque, and a Longines watc ...

at the 2015 World Championships in

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Whitlock was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to gymnastics and

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, also for services to gymnastics. In February 2021, Whitlock was announced as an ambassador for the 2022 World Championships in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

Personal life

Whitlock married Leah Hickton in July 2017. The following year, they set up the Max Whitlock Gymnastics Club with locations in Colchester and Southend. Their first child, a daughter named Willow, was born in February 2019. In January 2020, Whitlock's book ''The Whitlock Workout: Get Fit and Healthy in Minutes'' was published by

Headline The headline is the text indicating the content or nature of the article below it, typically by providing a form of brief summary of its contents. The large type ''front page headline'' did not come into use until the late 19th century when incre ...

Competitive history

References

External links