Max Whitlock has announced the Paris 2024 Games will be his fourth and final Olympics; the 31-year-old has won a total of six medals across the London, Rio and Tokyo Games; Whitlock can become the first gymnast to win four Olympic medals on the same apparatus on the pommel horse in Paris
Last Updated: 10/04/24 7:42am
Max Whitlock claimed his third Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock has announced he will retire from gymnastics after the Paris 2024 Games.
The 31-year-old, who has claimed six Olympic medals in total, is Britain’s most successful gymnast.
Whitlock has the opportunity to become the first gymnast to win four Olympic medals on the same apparatus when he competes on the pommel horse in Paris.
“This decision now feels right,” Whitlock told BBC Breakfast.
“Going for my final Olympic Games, it feels very, very strange talking about it and it’s almost hard to articulate what it’s like.
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After winning gold in Tokyo, Max Whitlock told Sky Sports News that he hoped to compete at the Paris 2024 Games.
“It’s a really nice mindset to be in, to think I’ll just give it all I’ve got.”
Whitlock rose to prominence by taking two bronze medals on his Olympic debut at London 2012, contributing to the host nation’s success in the team event along with individual success on the pommel horse.
He would go on to become Britain’s first individual Olympic gold medallist in artistic gymnastics by winning both the pommel horse and floor events in Rio de Janeiro four years later, while also earning Team GB a first medal for 108 years in the all-around event as he took bronze.
Whitlock then retained his pommel horse title at the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.
The Hertfordshire-born athlete has claimed 32 major international medals in total, including three World Championship golds, four European Championship titles and four further triumphs at the Commonwealth Games.
Following his latest Olympic triumph in Tokyo, Whitlock took an 18-month break from competing to address mental health struggles.
This summer’s Paris Games take place between 26 July and 11 August, with the pommel horse final Whitlock will be targeting scheduled for August 3.
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