The strict rule Team GB athletes have to follow every day at the Olympics
British gymnast Max Whitlock has explained the rule.
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Topics: Olympics
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Olympics
British gymnast Max Whitlock has detailed the rule every Team GB athlete must follow on a daily basis at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Whitlock, who is Britain's greatest ever male gymnast with three Olympic gold medals to his name, missed out on a podium finish in the pommel horse final on Saturday.
The 31-year-old finished fourth behind Stephen Nedroscik, Nariman Kurbanov and Rhys McClenaghan; the first gymnast from Ireland to win an Olympic medal in the event.
After failing to win a third consecutive gold on the apparatus, an emotional Whitlock announced his retirement from competition.
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“It’s so raw, it’s tricky,” he said. “It was my final one and I didn’t want it to finish that way.
"Of course I would have liked to finish the chapter a bit better but it wasn’t to be. It wasn’t my day today. It was a very strong pommel final with amazing routines from everybody. But that’s me done in the sport, that’s my last routine."
Ahead of the final in Paris, Whitlock gave fans an insight into one of the rules every Team GB athlete must follow at the Games.
In short, each member of the team must wear the same colour shirt at the Olympics so they can recognise fellow teammates straight away.
Whitlock explained further, saying: "Every night we get a message that tells us the colour of top we need to wear for the next day. The tops are also displayed in reception when you walk through as a reminder of what colour it is for the day ahead."
He added: "The most important thing is that we remain in the same colour. This ensures that wherever you go – whether it be walking through the village, a dining hall or a training venue – then the whole team is unified.
"It's a really good way to quickly recognise fellow teammates in any Olympic environment."
Speaking after the pommel horse event, Whitlock opened up on his career in the sport. "I feel very grateful to be a gymnast. I am very, very fortunate to have done a sport that I have loved from seven years old until now, 31 years old, it's a long time," he said.
"One of the best comments is when I have inspired young children to get into gymnastics.
"I get the comments all the time throughout here and the Olympic Games about someone getting their child into it because they have watched me, that's one of the best feelings.
"And now I am done with my competing career, I love the sport and I loved every minute, now I want to change gymnastics for the grassroots and hopefully I can do that, that's my next mission."