Max Whitlock with his daughter willow
(Picture: @maxwhitlock )Double Olympic champion Max Whitlock told how his daughter inspires him towards more success— but admitted she might be watching Paw Patrol rather than her father.
Whitlock, 28, the most successful British artistic gymnast in history, hopes to add to his tally of two Olympic golds and three bronzes in Sunday’s final of the pommel.
The team GB star is separated from Willow, two, and wife Leah while he competes in Tokyo. He said Willow appears to have gymnastics in her genes, and is attending pre-school classes and doing forward rolls.
Last December, Whitlock posted a video of himself doing a backflip while holding the toddler adding the caption “when my wife isn’t looking” and a laughing emoji. And he got a boost at the start of the Games when Leah with whom he has been since they were 14, posted a video of Willow cheering her dad on from home, hugging a giant poster of him.
He said: “I hope Willow will be watching me. She’s starting to recognise me and says ‘dad’ pointing at a big poster up in my gym.
“It’s just a case of whether she’s interested or not on the day. She’s probably be more interested in Paw Patrol if that’s on instead or playing outside. It’s a shame she can’t come to Tokyo but she is a huge push for me trying to go on at the top level for as long as I can so she can watch me in the top competitions.”
During the pandemic, Whitlock would use his sofa as a pommel horse while stuck at home.
But he said there were “huge positives” to lockdown, adding: “I’ve always been someone who likes being at home. So that side of it wasn’t too difficult.
“It wasn’t like being stranded. Willow has just turned two and I was at home for that stage of her learning, which was really nice.
“Training was exciting at the first. I was in the garden in good weather.
“But that kind of wore off. There were times when the motivation ebbed off a little bit.
“I wanted to come out of lockdown, if not a better athlete, then at least the same as when I entered it.”
Max Whitlock is an ambassador for DFS, the official homeware partner of Team GB.
