Double gold hero Max already plots new triumphs
Dedicated Whitlock plots new triumphs
LISTENING to Max Whitlock and Louis Smith yesterday, there was a discernible difference and it went beyond the colour of the medals they had in their tracksuit pockets.
While Smith hinted at an appearance on another television reality show and what sounded like a few weeks spent in the Australian jungle, Whitlock spoke of the next training camp in Portugal.
While Smith admitted to a fairly wild night out with his agent and a few close friends, Whitlock tried one caipirinha before catching up with Britain’s proudest parents and a similarly proud coach. It was his first alcoholic drink of 2016.
This is not to suggest that Smith lacks commitment or talent. He is a multi-Olympic medallist, after all. But what separates Whitlock from his rivals, and has contributed to him becoming Great Britain’s first Olympic gymnastics champion — indeed a double champion — is a focus on perfection, purely on his sport. ‘I’ve never wanted to do anything else,’ he said.
Rarely can there have been a more dedicated athlete, with his coach Scott Hann telling the story yesterday of how Whitlock left home to live in Slovenia with his mentor at the tender age of 11.
What impressed even Hann was how difficult a move it must have been for the boy he would begin coaching a few months later. ‘Max was painfully shy,’ said Hann. ‘He couldn’t even go into a shop and buy his own sweets. So to go to Slovenia at that age, to live with his coach and go to a Slovenian school, shows how much gymnastics meant to him even then.’
Whitlock still has vivid memories of the flight. ‘I went on my own so I had to be chaperoned by the airline,’ he said. ‘It’s crazy my mum let me go like that. But at the time we thought it was the best thing to do and it’s not something I regret. I stayed for three months and it was very tough. I’d go into school an hour early to try to learn Slovenian. I wasn’t just spending time in Slovenia, I was going out there to live.
‘I wanted to do it because I enjoyed my gymnastics and I got to a point where I was training and wasn’t enjoying it. My parents were prepared to do something about it. It brought the spark back and, after what happened yesterday, I’m proud that I did something like that when I was young. It shows how much I wanted it.’
Whitlock returned to the family home in Hemel Hempstead because his parents, mum Madeleine and dad Brian, were missing their youngest son terribly.
So they then contacted Hann, a coach based in Basildon with a reputation for guiding gymnasts to international standard. ‘His mum called me and I said: “Look, there are no half measures and I’m based an hour from your home. Are you sure?” The next morning they were outside the gym.’
Hann always believed in Whitlock, even when others had their doubts. National coaches were concerned by his reticence when gymnastics is so much about performance.
‘They were worried, questioning whether he had the confidence to compete,’ said Hann. ‘He’d given an interview and just froze. But I said I believed in him and we built that confidence in him.’
Whitlock and Hann are close, their relationship enhanced by the fact Hann is married to Whitlock’s girlfriend’s sister.
And it is all about training, 35 hours a week, even if 23-year-old Whitlock now has a stable of sponsors. Right now he drives nothing more flashy than a Nissan.
He might have been too emotional to answer one or two questions on Sunday but he spoke with an endearing mix of modesty and excitement yesterday.
Admiration has followed from Andy Murray and Justin Rose, two great champions who recognise the uniqueness of his discipline. Most of us can ride a bike, hit a golf ball or produce a tennis serve. Few can spin across a pommel horse.
‘Andy Murray said it was amazing what we can do with our bodies,’ said Whitlock.
And it is, particularly when delivered with the precision Whitlock showed as he wrote his own chapter in Olympic history.
‘I feel complete,’ he said. ‘But I’m not done. I can improve my floor and pommel. I feel there’s a lot to learn. It’s always been my dream to get my own move on pommel horse and that will take a long time.’
But it will come. You just know it will come.