Whitlock aims for Glasgow hat-trick
● Double Olympic hero returns to promote 2018 Euro Championships
Max Whitlock was back in Glasgow yesterday, the scene of his world pommel horse triumph two years ago.
The double Olympic champion, who also won three Commonwealth Games titles in the city in 2014, was unveiled as an official ambassador for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships – a new event bringing together aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon and a new golf team championship under one banner.
Whitlock is looking forward to making it a hat-trick of triumphs in Scotland next year.
He said: “I’m so happy to be a part of this and I can’t wait for it to come around.
“It feels strange being back in Glasgow because this is a place where I’ve had some amazing experiences like the 2015 World championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
“They were a really big part of my journey and this is a place I thoroughly enjoy competing.
“They are such good memories to look back on and hopefully, as we move forward with the same audience, hopefully I can do it again.
“This is a new competition so, hopefully, we’ll have even more of an atmosphere to bring. There are six different sports involved so the atmosphere surrounding every athlete is going to be crazy.
“I think it’s going to have that mini-olympics feel, which is great. It brings the country together and the crowds help us home athletes so much more.
“It would be very good if I could make it a hat-trick of wins in Glasgow. I’ve got a few competitions along the way first, but next year is a big year and this event, smack bang in the middle of the year, will be brilliant as well.”
Whitlock was joined yesterday by Bonnie, the mascot which has been chosen for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships.
Organisers claim Bonnie is a female seal from Argyle who they hope will encourage more young women into sport.
Scottish sport minister Aileen Campbell said: “I think it’s really important that Bonnie is a girl and that she’s willing to give things a try. That’s the whole narrative that’s built around Bonnie and the resilience we want to encourage in our youngsters.
“Of course, we do know that we have particular challenges around getting women and girls into sport and activity, which makes it even more important that we have the symbol of these championships being female.”
With the championships taking place four years after Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games, city leaders say the infrastructure is already in place for a successful event.
An appeal for volunteers to help at the championships has been inundated with applications and thousands of visitors are expected for the 11 days of competition.
Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said: “We’re building a new BMX track but other than that, the championships will use existing venues, building on the expertise and lessons learned during the Commonwealth Games.
“We’re expecting something like 50,000 visitors from Europe and beyond and there will be 3,000 athletes coming to participate.
“I think the sports we are hosting like gymnastics, cycling and swimming have really strong fan bases and people will want to come and see these athletes competing at the top level.”