IT IS standing room only in the parents’ viewing room at South Essex Gymnastics Club in Basildon.
As groups of two to four-year-olds take turns to hang off the rings and jump around, staring down at them from a massive poster on the wall is Max Whitlock: “Double Olympic Champion Floor & Pommel”.
It was around Christmas 11 years ago that Whitlock, then 12, started training at the club.
Keep up to date with ALL the sport news, gossip and transfers on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
And there is no better way of understanding what his historic achievements in Rio mean, than to speak to him while watching his legacy unfold before your very eyes.
Since winning Britain’s first Olympics golds in gymnastics, Whitlock has spent much of his time doing demonstrations in schools where he pulls off the same tricks he used to impress his friends with as a kid.
Whitlock said: “Back then gymnastics was seen as more of a feminine sport.
“I was quite lucky because I didn’t get any stick. I think it’s because I sometimes showed what gymnasts can do.
“They loved to see it. I used to do backflips along the AstroTurf at school, things like that.
“At secondary school I used to come out three times a week at 12 o’clock to go and train, so I think they were a bit jealous as well.
“There wasn’t many people to look up to when I started.
“Now there are kids saying they want to go to the Olympics and be an Olympic champion.
“When I was young, it just wasn’t there. I didn’t think about going to the Olympics, didn’t have it as a dream until I was about 17.
“It’s quite easy, being a gymnast, to inspire kids. Instead of just walking into schools and answering some questions, they can see what I’m all about and what gymnasts can do.
“They love to see the flips and the flares. That’s what we are trying to do, to get as many kids involved in gymnastics as possible, especially boys.”
It is hard to imagine a better role model than the down-to-earth, friendly and open Whitlock.
He seems to be coping brilliantly with his new status as one of Britain’s biggest sports stars and a leading contender for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
So when does it hit that you are your country’s greatest ever gymnast?
Whitlock, who is still only 23, laughed: “Not yet.” He thought he was ready for the reaction to Rio after winning pommel and team bronzes at London 2012 brought him a taste of fame.
He said: “I don’t think it ever sinks in.
“I didn’t think it could be bigger than after a home Olympics but it’s ten times more. I get recognised a lot. Crazy things happen. I even got a round of applause as I left Prezzo.”
Also in the gym, as SunSport challenge me to put on some distinctly unflattering skin-tight kit, is Scott Hann.
He is the coach whose ambition and commitment have matched Whitlock’s since he started training at Basildon in 2005.
Hann said: “There are other gymnasts with more physical talent than him.
“But what I realised very, very quickly was his ability to compete under pressure. It’s phenomenal, second to none.
“I’ve never met anyone able to be that cool, calm and collected in a competitive environment. That excited me.”
Whitlock’s grace under pressure paid dividends in Rio. The world silver medallist nailed his routine on the floor, while others faltered.
Hann said: “It got to a point where he was going to win a medal. And I said to him: ‘Do you want to know what’s going on?’ He said ‘no’.
“The next three were big names, they were going to beat him surely. Each one made small mistake, small mistake, small mistake.
“When it came through, I just tapped him on the leg and said: ‘Max, you’re Olympic champion’. He looked up at me and burst into tears.”
Whitlock said: “You see athletes that achieve things like that, crying and everything, and you don’t think you would be like that, but you can’t control it.
“But deep down, I couldn’t go mad. I still had the pommel final.”
On their signature apparatus, Whitlock and Louis Smith duly repeated their one-two from the 2015 World Championships.
And having waited 120 years for a gymnastics gold medal, Britain had won two in two hours, thanks to Whitlock.
But the man himself is just as chuffed with the bronze he won in the all-around competition earlier in the week behind his idol, Japan’s Kohei Uchimura.
Whitlock said: “It’s the hardest one of all. The golds are hard but you have to do one routine well.
“The bronze, you have to do six all in that one day. I feel?? so have done it with such a strong field of gymnasts. In a weird way, more proud.
“Golds stand out because of their colour and it’s the pinnacle of your career. But bronze was the hardest.”
With seven Rio medals, Britain is truly a world power in gymnastics and Whitlock is quite literally its poster boy.
Hann said: “We spoke a lot in the past about ‘Where do you want to be? What do you want to do?’
“He looked at me and I said: ‘I’ve got an idea. I’d like you to become a legend. Why don’t you try to join the names like Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Chris Hoy and people who are going to be remembered for a long, long time?’
“He smiled and said he really liked that idea. What’s important to him is that he does continue to inspire the next generation.
“He wants to be this icon that people look up to, a sporting legend, not just a gymnastics legend.”
Mission accomplished. But how do you cope with being a legend at the age of 23? What’s next? Whitlock and fiancee Leah Hickton, head of women’s artistic gymnastics at the club, have a July wedding to plan.
The happy day will make SEGC even more of a family affair — Hann is married to Leah’s sister, while in the office you will find the mother of Team GB pal and club-mate Brinn Bevan.
And after gorging on pizza and burgers since Rio — yet still losing 2kg, the show-off — it will be back to hard training in January.
RELATED STORIES
Whitlock said: “I’m not stopping. I’ve got so much motivation. Retaining titles, there’s a lot more to do and a lot more to learn.
“After every major championships, I come back and I’m so fired up. This has been slightly harder.
“In the back of my mind, I know I’ve got those two gold medals.
“But when I get them out on stage at events, and it’s ‘Welcome double Olympic champion . . . ’ it doesn’t feel real.”
One glance at that poster will tell him, and generations of little boys and girls, that it is.
Max Whitlock is one of the 16 contenders for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016, live on BBC One Sunday Dec 18 at 6.40pm.
Leave a comment