Max Whitlock on coming full circle at the same arena he made his Worlds debut a decade ago

If Great Britain's Max Whitlock didn't realise he was back in the thick of international competition by the beginning of the men's artistic gymnastics World Championships team final on Tuesday 3 October, he certainly did by the end.

The Brits had ebbed and flowed throughout the meet at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp – at times leading the way before dropping back down the order in a rollercoaster ride.

Halfway through the six-apparatus competition, the team, also featuring Jake Jarman, Courtney Tulloch, James Hall and Harry Hepworth had shot into second place, behind People's Republic of China, after a sensational vaulting session. Parallel bars next with scores high enough to maintain position.

But errors on high bar and floor finally dropped the Brits out of the medals into fourth, scoring 249.461. Japan struck gold for the first time since 2015 (255.594), while defending champions China were second (253.794) and a buoyant United States third (252.428).

Despite the near miss of the podium, Whitlock was philosophical.

"There's disappointment in there, of course," he told Olympics.com after the competition. "I think there's something to say that we've come fourth in the world and the whole team feels a little bit gutted. There's definitely a positive to take from that in terms of moving forward.

"There were obviously some mistakes that we made as a team so we can build on it and we can improve on it. But, actually, overall, I think we can take a lot of positives."

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Time for reflection for Max Whitlock

With the majority of nations competing in Belgium duking it out for the final available five-member team quota spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Great Britain were in a rather different position.

The only nation to obtain quota berths to Paris 2024 with both men's and women's teams courtesy of podium finishes at the 2022 World Championships in Liverpool – the women securing silver, the men bronze – nine more positions were available at the 2023 edition in Belgium to complete the 12-nation line up for France.

For the Brits then, the competition served as a platform to try new upgrades, bed in new team members, and practise new routines in front of a crowd.

For Whitlock, it was a step back onto the same stage where he competed at his first ever World Championships, a decade ago. Already a two-time Olympic medallist by then, having competed at London 2012 winning bronze on pommel horse and in the team event, Whitlock has gone on to become a British legend.

He remembers "little bits" of the event and "has some photos somewhere", reflecting: "It was my first World Championship in 2013, here in Antwerp, so it's nice for it to come full circle a decade later, which makes me feel really old," he laughs.

"I suppose it's a good thing that I can reflect on it because my mindset at that time, in 2013, it was all about the bigger picture. It was all about trying to build experience here for the future. And I think it shows that I've done some things right when I was young because I've definitely had that longevity that I had hopes for."

Building "experience" at his first World Championships included winning silver on the pommel horse, the first of five medals on the apparatus over the years, with three of them gold.

Someone else who made their mark in 2013, was one Simone Biles, the 16-year-old winning four medals including two golds in her debut World Championships. Does Whitlock remember anything about the burgeoning superstar then?

"A little bit," he smiles. "I think we had a photo. I probably should try and dig that out.

"We're a similar generation in terms of the competitions we've been through together. "I've seen her talk about coming around full circle and I think it is a nice feeling, and like her too, I had time out of the sport and come back. It's tough. It's really tough.

"I think that piles on the pressure, especially with her calibre too, that expectancy is always going to be there, which is really hard to deal with. Pressure, that's normal, but pressure and expectancy is tough.

"She's obviously pulled it off as well. Everyone's seen her new vault and everything like that, so it's amazing to see her back and I think everyone's loving it."

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Equilibrium key for Max Whitlock

Whitlock has been making his own history, too, becoming the most decorated British gymnast of all time with eight World medals and six Olympic gongs, including two pommel horse titles.

If the 30-year-old is selected for Paris 2024, and if he wins a medal, he'll make Olympic history too – he would be the first gymnast, male or female, to win four Olympic medals on the same apparatus.

If, if, if.

Whitlock doesn't play that game. He's just enjoying being back not only on the world stage, but also relishing the baseline enjoyment of doing gymnastics after a fallow period following Tokyo 2020 when he struggled with motivation for anything, let alone gymnastics.

But he's back with a bang, qualifying top for the pommel horse final ahead of Rhys McClenaghan, who competes for Ireland, with the head-to-head of the reigning Olympic champion versus current world title holder taking place on Saturday (7 October).

Watching on will be Whitlock's four-year-old daughter Willow, a big part of the reason her dad returned to the sport.

"I think if I would have stopped when I thought I was done after Tokyo, it would have been quitting and I didn't want to send that message to Willow.

"I have the opportunity to do more, and I feel like I can do more, and I'd regret it if I don't take that opportunity. So it's amazing that Willow can see me do that.

"I always wanted to have children at an age where I was still doing gymnastics, still competing at this level, so Willow doesn't have to just watch it on videos or anything like that, so she can see it in real life. So, it's really nice that I can go back now and see my family and see Willow as part of that and hopefully celebrate this all together."

And what did Willow say after seeing her daddy compete on the big stage for the first time, after qualifications on Saturday?

"To be honest, not much. I think she's more interested in going to see the Chocolate Factory and the play place around the corner."