Whitlock claims bronze to make history
Britain’s long wait for all-around medal is over Japan’s Uchimura takes gold to defend his title
It is the contention of Scott Hann, Max Whitlock’s coach, that his gymnast is capable of becoming a “legend” of British sport. There were intimations here at the Rio Olympic Arena that he might one day be right, as Whitlock, a reticent character but a wonderfully expressive athlete, grasped a bronze that represented Britain’s first medal in an Olympic all-around competition for 108 years. The only other countryman to have achieved the distinction was Walter Tysall, a quiet Birmingham bachelor, at the London Games of 1908. Back then, rope climbing still formed part of the repertoire.
That Whitlock claimed his prize at the climax of the finest Olympic all-around finals in memory, won by his hero Kohei Uchimura, only heightened the satisfaction. It helped that one of his strongest suits, the floor, was saved for last, but with only the most slender advantage over Russia’s David Belyavskiy after five rounds, he needed all his icy composure to prevail. An elegant routine, culminating in a triple twist and an almost immaculate ending, proved just enough for him to share a podium with the great Uchimura after 2¾ hours of engrossing drama. “I wanted to prove myself as an all-rounder,” he said. “I guess I have finally fulfilled my goal.”
Astoundingly, Uchimura, whose name means ‘peaceful flight’ in Japanese, is now unbeaten at global championships for eight years. He is also only the second man ever to defend an Olympic title in this most onerous discipline, after compatriot Sawao Kato managed it in 1972. But my, he left it late, requiring a few beautifully-executed rotations on the high bar to eclipse a superb performance by Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev, the European champion. A parallel bars display for the ages, yielding 16.100 – a score to which perhaps only Simone Biles could aspire – was still not sufficient to thwart Uchimura, who intends to sign off his career with a record third straight all-around gold at his home Games in Tokyo in 2020.
Whitlock could do little about the duel at the top of the standings, but he held his form together brilliantly. The disappointment of a fourth-place finish in the team event did not linger, as Whitlock proved near-faultless on the pom- mel horse and vault. At 23, he is yet to enlist the services of a sports psychologist, but he remains somehow impervious to distraction. Several times, he pulled up his Team GB hoodie to screen out the noise.
He has every skill in abundance, not least on his beloved pommel horse, and last year he became only the second Briton to secure a world championship medal. He remains in search, though, of a signature move – one to stand comparison with the Yurchenko loop, the Amanar vault, the Memmel turn – that might earn his place in the sport’s Code of Points and elevate him irrevocably to the elite.
But this is one realm where it is devilishly hard to forge a distinctive identity. One who has managed it is Uchimura, who blazes through his repertoires with effortless grace and speed and yet gives his rivals not the slightest clue to his secrets in training. The Japanese are notoriously reluctant about uploading any footage of their gymnasts to YouTube, for fear of letting the world in on their methods. Whitlock admits to having been fascinated by Uchimura, who speaks not a word of English, ever since he met him in Japan six years ago. This was a precious occasion for him to command the stage alongside his idol.
Whitlock is an unfussy but fiercely dedicated soul, who says that he wants nothing to do with the circus of reality television that has seduced Louis Smith, his British team-mate. He has made too many sacrifices to risk frittering away his talent. He leads a quiet, almost ascetic existence, free from too many temptations, having proposed to Leah Hickton, his coach’s sister-in-law, after a nine-year courtship. The lifestyle is one that invites many a comparison with Andy Murray’s, and there are signs at last that Whitlock could be poised for a taste of Murray’s rewards.
Encouragingly, there was also an eighth-place finish for Britain’s Nile Wilson. Come Tokyo in four years’ time, chez Uchimura, the contingent should be stronger still. After years of flattering to deceive, British gymnastics has turned a corner.