Max Whitlock claims British pommel horse title ahead of Olympic defence in Paris – ‘It feels good to be back’

Max Whitlock claimed pommel horse gold at the British Championships as he builds up to the defence of his Olympic title at the 2024 Games in Paris this summer.

The three-time Olympic champion said it “feels good to be back” following his triumph.

Whitlock took a year-long hiatus following the Tokyo Olympics and was ruled out of the 2023 European Championships through injury.

The 31-year-old marked his return with a fifth-place finish in the pommel horse discipline at the World Championships later in the year.

Alongside his pommel horse gold medal at the British Championships, Whitlock finished third in the horizontal bars and fourth in the parallel bars.

As he prepares to defend his pommel horse title in Paris, his favoured discipline, he scored 15.250 on Sunday to blow away British team-mate Jake Jarman, who scored 14.150.

“It feels crazy we are in Olympic year now – it feels like 2024 has really started,” Whitlock said, as he stepped up preparations ahead of his fourth Olympic Games.

“It feels good, it feels good to be back. Since Tokyo it has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me, with a year out of the sport then coming back in.”

Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Joe Fraser settled for bronze in the pommel horse event after scoring 13.950.

However, Fraser, 25, secured the men’s all-around title while 22-year-old Jarman won his two specialist events, the floor and vault, while also claiming victory in the horizontal bars.

Next up for Whitlock is the European Championships in Rimini, Italy next month, two months before the British Gymnastics squad is announced for the Games in Paris.

Elsewhere at the British Championships, Harry Hepworth won gold in the men’s rings, while Ondine Achampong strengthened her Olympic preparations with a clean sweep in all of her finals across the weekend.

The 20-year-old won the all-around discipline and then won gold in the uneven bars, beam and floor individual events to cap off a stunning display.

Shannon Archer, 25, came out on top in the women’s vault, which was the only final Achampong did not qualify for.