Five-time medalist Max Whitlock eyes third straight Games appearance at Tokyo Olympics
Five-time Olympic medalist Max Whitlock will aim to scale the high rungs of glory when he leads Team GB’s men’s charge in gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics.
The double Rio 2016 champion will be joined by 2019 parallel bar world champion Joe Fraser, British all-around winner James Hall and European medalist Giarrni Regini-Moran.
Whitlock will make his third appearance at the Olympics this summer, while the other three gymnasts will compete in their maiden Olympics.
Five years ago, Whitlock scripted history at the Rio Olympics by becoming the first British gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal. In a career spanning more than ten years, Whitlock has won about every other major medal, including gold on pommel horse and floor in Rio besides an all-around bronze medal.
At 28, Whitlock is showing no signs of slowing down, even dropping hints at his intention to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"To think this will be my third Olympic Games is very surreal. We have a great team and I’m really looking forward to going to Tokyo Olympics, one of my favourite destinations with them. I’m always honoured to be picked to represent Team GB and hopefully we can go out there and do an amazing job," Whitlock told Eurosports.
Whitlock has dominated the pommel horse event over the past five World Championships and the Olympics, where he clinched four golds and one silver in total. Great Britain undoubteldy has one of the most promising gymnasts in Whitlock.
Having scaled many a peak in his illustrious career, the Briton holds the potential to carve a bright career at the highest level. His participation across multiple events will heighten Great Britain's medal chances at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Want to see what all we can achieve at Tokyo Olympics: Whitlock's teammate Joe Fraser
His team-mate Fraser was happy to see Whitlock onboard and said that his addition to the squad would reap major dividends in Tokyo.
“Having him on board in this squad and giving us all advice has been incredible for the last 10 years I’ve been watching him. Being a junior as he’s a senior, I was just thinking ‘ah, I just want to be like Max.’ Now to actually be in a team with him, it fills me with joy and I just want to see what we can all achieve in Tokyo," Fraser told The Guardian.
Meanwhile, the selection of the four-women team for the Tokyo Olympics will be postponed until early June, British Gymnastics said in a statement. The postponement came hours after the death of Josh Downie, brother of world medalists Rebecca and Ellie Downie, right before the final Olympic trials.
Also Read: British gymnast allowed special trial to qualify for Tokyo Olympics after brother's demise