Max Whitlock wins gold again in the gymnastics with a perfect pommel horse routine
In the second gold medal of the day for Team GB, British gymnast Max Whitlock has retained the Olympic title he won back in Rio 2016 with a professional and perfectly executed pommel horse routine.
Whitlock won Britain’s first-ever Olympic gold in the men’s gymnastics at the last tournament, ending a 120-year wait in the history of the modern games in the process. You might have said things couldn’t get any better from there but there was something about this title defence that was just mesmerising to watch.
"He could not have done that routine any better!"
Max Whitlock 🇬🇧👏https://t.co/WbF0sxYgFz #bbcolympics #tokyo2020 https://t.co/TVp51wKpuG
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 1, 2021
Aside from the sheer athleticism that continues to stagger us when we watch professional gymnasts, it was Whitlock’s calm and composure throughout the entire routine that draws you in – almost as if he knew he was going home with the gold.
For those uninitiated, the pommel horse (named after the apparatus the Romans used to teach mounting and dismounting horses) is that thing he is somehow managing to swing around with ease and is one of two categories in the men’s gymnastics – the other being floor.
As mentioned, Whitlock wasn’t the only one to win his event for Team GB today: Charlotte Worthington’s spell-binding run in the women’s BMX freestyle saw her take home the event’s inaugural gold medal, pulling off a historical skill in the process.
Britain currently sit 6th in the Olympic leaderboards but we’ve already seen a number of gold medals from our fantastic athletes. Keep ’em coming, guys!
