The arena will fall silent as Max Whitlock attempts to make history at this summer’s Olympics, around the point at which Willow, his five-year old-daughter, is highly likely to call out “Daddy” and give him a thumbs-up for his last ever competitive spin on the pommel.
Whitlock is announcing on Wednesday that he will retire from gymnastics in August at the conclusion of the men’s apparatus finals in Paris. It is a sport that has been at the centre of his life and brought him three Olympic gold medals — two in the pommel at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 and one for the floor exercise in Rio. Having also claimed bronze at London 2012 in the pommel, the 31-year-old will be attempting to become the first gymnast to win a medal on the same piece of apparatus at four consecutive Games.
That Whitlock is leaving the sport is not a shock given he is, on paper, eight years past his peak, but it is significant that he is going public well before the Games begin.
“I don’t think anybody truly knows when is the right time to announce,” he says. “But for me what feels good is that I’ve been asked the question constantly since 2016. ‘When are you finishing? When are you retiring? If I were you, I would stop now.’
“I thought I was done after Tokyo and now I’m back. Now I’m in a really clear headspace. I want to get it out there so it’s off my shoulders, if I’m really honest. It feels a nice thing to be able to answer the question people constantly ask me.”
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Later this month Whitlock will compete at the European Championships in Rimini as a final preparation — not only on the pommel but also the parallel bars and probably the high bar as part of the men’s team event.
“I have nothing to lose but all to gain,” he says. “I want to show people what it’s like to build up to a fourth Olympic Games. I’ve been written off, I’ve been doubted my whole journey. I want to show people I might be 31 years old, eight years over peak, but I’m as motivated as I’ve ever been and I’m excited for the challenge.”
Written off? Whitlock has done more than anyone to put Britain in the frame when it comes to gymnastics. His rivalry with Louis Smith was one of the most tense and emotional within any team in any event at the 2016 Rio Games. Smith was in tears receiving his silver medal for the pommel while Whitlock took gold. So who, exactly, has been writing him off his entire career?
“I don’t want to name and shame, but it’s people within the gymnastics world,” he says. “It kind of hit me, it’s almost a shame for someone to say that to me. The way it was said, like, ‘Why? Why are you carrying on?’ The naivety of that is crazy.
“It’s so easy to judge people on a surface level. You don’t know how they are feeling. I’m still going because I feel I can achieve more. I’m pushing boundaries every day and hoping I can get some personal best scores.”
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If it is people within the world of gymnastics then surely they should have known better? “It’s people who should know better, there’s no doubt about that,” Whitlock says, albeit without a trace of anger.
I have interviewed him regularly since he burst on to the scene in London 12 years ago when, along with that bronze in the pommel, he was part of the men’s team who secured a podium finish, a first in 100 years. Across all that time he has never once complained about lack of support or understanding and always tried to see the best in people and circumstances.
“In the grand scheme of things it [the fact there are doubters] just motivates me more,” he says. “I’ve learnt the more you do, the more you are making an impact, making waves, you have to be thick-skinned and use things that could go against you to progress.
“At the start, people said I would never compete on the world stage. Before London 2012, by the team selector I was told 2012 was not my cycle. I made London 2012 [only] to be told by a British judge that I wouldn’t medal on the pommel.
“It’s been constant. At times it’s been hard. It’s been a long time but I’m doing something that I love and want to create the biggest impact I can after my career.”
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But back to the role of young Willow. In fact, Whitlock’s daughter will have every right to steal the limelight in Paris briefly because she has had a significant part to play in her father’s determination to make history. Whitlock made what was for him a highly unusual snap decision to retire after he had won gold in Tokyo, but the idea of one day having to explain to his daughter that he had suffered a fear of failure helped him to re-engage with a discipline that had begun to take its toll.
“A massive factor was that if I had retired after Tokyo, that would have felt like quitting and that just feels awful to me,” he says. “Willow says, ‘We’re Whitlocks and we don’t quit.’ ”
This is something his daughter may well shout out in Paris given it is a phrase she uses a good deal and was her mantra when she learnt how to cartwheel.
“The message I’m getting from Willow is that she is proud, and that just spurs me on,” Whitlock says. “It would eat me up inside for years and years if I quit because I was scared of moving forwards. I am sending the right message to Willow, it is better to try than not try.
“Tokyo was a Covid Olympics and no one was there, but I now have the opportunity to go to the closest Olympics we’re going to get to a home Games and hopefully we can get everyone [in the family] out there, including Willow, to come and watch.
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“It’s an amazing experience for everyone, not just the athletes. There’s Centre Parcs and Disneyland [in Paris] so I’m sure they’ll have an amazing holiday at the same time. They probably won’t want to come and watch the competition!”
Still, given that he has announced his retirement in advance of the Games, there will be an added layer of pressure. Commentators will tell viewers this is the very last time they will see Whitlock and so, surely, he has to bow out on a high?
“I’m encouraged hearing you say that,” he says with a smile. “I’m eager for it to come round. Usually competitions come around too quickly but this time I am eager because of the openness and honesty.
“That layer of fear of failure post-Tokyo has completely gone. I feel excited. I’d love to finish on a high, of course, but I am also not someone who feels he has to finish on a high. It forces the mindset that I can give it everything I’ve got because it’s my last. I don’t hang my hat on thinking you are remembered for the last thing you do. I just want to push boundaries”
Is there a chance he will win gold and then think; “Oh, I can carry on after all?” How would he handle that? Whitlock laughs at length as he pictures the scenario.
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“Usually, when I make a decision, I make a decision,” he says. “I stick to them. It feels good, it feels right. The result is irrelevant.”
Over the past three years that he has been contemplating life post-retirement, he has found “a massive passion” outside of training, having formed his own company. Max Whitlock Gymnastics goes into schools to equip primary school teachers to teach the sport and he wants the business to go nationwide eventually.
“I’ve seen athletes retire and feel like they are starting from zero,” he says. “If I don’t feel productive outside of training then I am lacking, I feel low. The business fuels my training. My days are filled. And I can jump with both feet into the business. It’s a proud feeling.
“I’m not going into schools trying to create the next Olympic champion. I didn’t start the sport wanting to be an Olympic champion — it was fun.
“I want to show what real gymnastics is. Teachers are scared of real gymnastics. Only a small few feel confident. Teachers think if you teach a forward roll the kids will hurt their necks. So we simplify the process. We know our stuff. If you start with gymnastics you get a head start, a foundation that will help with other subjects and any other sport.”
Whitlock’s edge over his younger rivals in Paris could be that he understands how to handle the big moments in the most demanding of disciplines.
“The highest pressure moments I’ve been in, I’ve performed better than the less pressured environments,” he says. “We’re in a sport where you don’t get three attempts and you take your best one. It doesn’t take an hour so you can redeem yourself. We’re in a sport where it’s very individual with one shot which lasts just over a minute. That’s why the sense of relief when you finish a near perfect routine is crazy.”
But perhaps not as crazy as those who chose to doubt his ability. For Whitlock, to perform well in Paris would be proof that gymnasts can have longevity if they listen only to more positive voices — including pep talks from a five-year-old.
Olympics
Paris
Friday, July 26 – Sunday, August 11
