WORLD STAR
At 22, Max Whitlock already has 18 major gymnastics medals. This week he wants to become a...
THE Great Britain gymnastics team are at the national sports centre in Lilleshall doing a mock competition to prepare for the World Championships in Glasgow, which have just begun.
Taking turns, they perform on each apparatus, cheering on each other — but Max Whitlock remains silent, eyes cast downwards.
‘I don’t watch anyone else compete,’ he says. ‘Even when I’m training I just focus on my own job, never mind how much I want to watch everyone else.’
It is a hallmark of a doggedly determined athlete who has set his sights on becoming a legend of the sport. ‘I’d love to be a big name around the world,’ says the 22-year- old, who is already the owner of 18 major championships medals.
The quest for greatness continues in Glasgow where Whitlock only narrowly qualified for Friday’s all-around final ahead of Great Britain team-mate Nile Wilson after falling off the high bar.
Against him will be Japan’s Kohei Uchimura, winner at the past five World Championships and, in Whitlock’s estimation, the greatest gymnast to have lived. Whitlock has never watched him live, despite being less than 25 metres away countless times. ‘I go back afterwards and watch the Japanese on YouTube,’ says Whitlock. ‘Their whole team inspire me. Their casual attitude and the way they make things look easy.’
Like most great athletes, Whitlock is single-minded, with a life based on routine. He lives with his girlfriend of eight years Leah Hickton, less than 10 minutes’ drive in his Nissan hatchback from the training gym in Essex where he has been based since he was 12.
‘I like routine, that’s what gymnasts do,’ he says. ‘When I’m away the closest I can get to what I do at home in my own gym, the better I feel. I make sure I pack my gym bag the night before with all my leotards in order. I try not to let it drift into obsession.’
So it was especially difficult when Whitlock was forced to rest at home after being struck down by glandular fever in March. It was just the second time he had been away from the gym for three weeks or more since his career began. The other time was after winning two bronze medals at the London Olympics in 2012.
‘It hit me at the English Championships,’ says Whitlock. ‘A few weeks earlier I had felt the fittest I’ve ever been. Then I slowly deteriorated to the point where I would struggle to do anything over 30 seconds long. My arms were heavy, legs heavy, it just knocks the stuffing out of you.
‘It lasted four months, which is lucky because I’ve heard of people struggling with it for years. In a way it has been good because it’s made me more fired up to compete.’
At the London Open, his first competition back, Whitlock scored 91.6 in the all-around final which takes in six disciplines — floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar. This was his best result to date and would have been good enough for silver behind Uchimura at the Olympics.
The Asian is 26, a relative grandfather in gymnastics, but he has pledged to continue until his home Olympics of Tokyo 2020 — and Whitlock would not have it any other way.
‘I’m ambitious and have to aim to be the best in the world — and that includes beating Uchimura, so I’m not looking forward to him retiring,’ he says.
While he looks up to the Japanese, Whitlock has followers of his own back in Basildon.
‘My gym has a year-and-a-half waiting list, the youngest member is two years old, and we all train together, so hopefully we’re inspiring the next generation.’