Olympic champion Max Whitlock adorably gets cheered on by his No 1 fan and two-year-old daughter Willow as Team GB star gets defence of two gold medals off rolling by qualifying for the men’s pommel final
British gymnast Max Whitlock’s number one fan urged him on as he began the defence of his two Olympic gold medals in Tokyo today.
Two-year-old daughter Willow wished her dad ‘Good Luck’ and shouted ‘Go GB’ in a heart-moving home video, recorded by his wife Leah at the family home in Essex early this morning.
Whitlock, who won two gold medals and a bronze at Rio 2016 and two bronzes at London 2012, shared the sweet film on his Instagram.
Team GB star Max Whitlock (right) was adorably cheered on by his No 1 fan and two-year-old daughter, Willow (left), before making his Olympic return on Saturday
The athlete was made an MBE in the 2017 New Year Honours list in recognition of his Olympic success and services to gymnastics.
The 28-year-old dad began his medal defence in the qualification rounds of Artistic Gymnastics today and eased through to the men’s pommel final on his return to Olympic competition in Tokyo.
Whitlock scored 14.9, ranking him in third place in the standings in the penultimate qualifying rotation, which guaranteed his qualification for the eight-man individual final.
Whitlock eased through to the men’s pommel final on his return to Olympic competition
Daughter Willow wished her dad ‘Good Luck’ and shouted ‘Go GB’ in a heart-moving video
Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan, who pipped Whitlock to gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, currently leads the pommel standings after a score of 15.266.
The five-time Olympic medallist was happy with his performance as he took to social media to thank everyone for their support.
Whitlock tweeted: ‘Really pleased with qualifications today. Thanks so much for all the messages and everyone who was up early to watch! #Tokyo2020.’
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