Max Whitlock ready for fairytale ending for himself and daughter Willow at Paris 2024
You might think you know all there is to know about British gymnast Max Whitlock as he heads toward his fourth and final Olympic Games after being selected for Paris 2024.
But let's try you, shall we?
Did you know Whitlock's coach, Scott Hann, is also his brother-in-law?
Did you know Whitlock is interested in Artificial Intelligence?
Did you know Whitlock could make Olympic gymnastics history in Paris?
How many did you get?
There's more, of course, for someone used to reinventing themselves throughout a gymnastics career that has spanned three Olympic Games, through London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020.
Whitlock announced in February 2023 that, if selected, the XXXIII Olympiad would be his final competition before he retires from the sport he started at seven years old, a journey that saw him team up for what would become a fruitful partnership with coach Hann at 12.
So, bearing that in mind, we know that the 31-year-old will finish his career with eight World medals, three of them gold, and eight European gongs, including four titles.
It is only the Olympic medal count that is uncertain. Whitlock has six... so far.
Two bronzes, aged 19, at London 2012, in the men's team and on pommel horse. A history-making pair of gold gongs at Rio 2016.
The first, on floor exercise, made him the first British gymnast to become an individual Olympic champion. The second top spot, less than two hours later, came on his specialist apparatus, the pommel horse.
Individual all-around bronze in Brazil saw Whitlock finish on the podium alongside men's gymnastics icon, Kohei Uchimura of Japan with gold, and Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev, claiming silver.
At Tokyo 2020, delayed to 2021, Whitlock defended his Olympic pommel horse title, another first for British gymnastics, and it is on this apparatus that he could potentially make Olympic history at the Bercy Arena, which starts with qualifications for men's team, individual all-around, and apparatus finals, on 26 July.
Should he qualify for the pommel horse final, a fourth medal of any colour would make Whitlock the first gymnast – male or female, and yes even including Simone Biles – to win four medals on the same apparatus at an Olympic Games.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves, something that Whitlock is trying hard not to do, as he told Olympics.com in an interview at his last ever GB team announcement on 13 June.
What is the definition of success for Max Whitlock at Paris 2024?
Is a medal key to 'success' in Paris, Olympics.com asked, or is that goal tempered with the joy of fans being back in the stands and therefore friends and family, including five-year-old daughter Willow, being able to watch his final hoorah? A happy final curtain whatever the result?
"I'd like to say a mix of both of those different things when it comes to my fourth Olympic Games," Whitlock smiled.
"I think there's a lot to say about going and enjoying an experience, of course there is, and of course that's what I want to be doing, but I think the competitive side never stops.
"One of the reasons why I'm continuing and why I chose to come back is because I feel like I've got more to give. And I want to go to Paris and hopefully be in a position where I can get some PBs (Personal Bests), and really prove that to myself as well, and so the competitor never stops.
"I think the huge motivation now, I think it goes without saying, is retaining titles. That would be the absolute dream, and hopefully I can make that dream a reality."
Daughter Willow a big inspiration for Max Whitlock
The reference to choosing to come back is poignant.
Adamant he was finished after Tokyo 2020, a lacklustre period followed in which Whitlock struggled to get motivated for anything, let alone gymnastics, as he detailed in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com just 17 months ago when he announced a return for a final Games.
But one of the reasons for the return was for his now five-year-old daughter, who, he smiled, is currently learning about the Olympics at school.
"I never wanted to send a message down of quitting because of the fear of moving forwards or anything like that," said Whitlock, who revealed that rather than being impressed that daddy has made the GB team, Willow, predictably for a child her age, is more excited about a holiday to Paris.
But for dad, it's more emotive.
"Willow's got the opportunity to come to watch the Olympic Games rather than just watching old videos on YouTube or anything like that," he said.
"I think that's what feels really good for me to be able to give that experience to Willow, to know that I'm pushing myself out of my comfort zone here. I'm in a pressure environment. I'm going to go and give it my best shot.
"I think the message that I can try and send to her and seeing her loving every minute and getting right into the atmosphere and supporting me is a really proud feeling."
The return of family and friends to the Olympic Games, then, will be extra special, after the necessary absence of crowds in Tokyo, with arenas in France filled with joyful spectators and support for the athletes from family and friends amid a cacophony of noise.
For Whitlock to be able to choose this moment as his retirement from gymnastics is a privilege, no matter what happens in the actual competition.
But, of course, he wants the fairytale finish, for him and for his daughter.