It wasn’t until I was 17 or 18 years old that I realised I wanted to go an Olympic Games. “You think about people like Mo Farah winning two gold medals and when people introduce me as the double Olympic champion it doesn’t feel right”.
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But some people claimed that Smith had refused to congratulate his teammate after he was pipped to gold in the pommel horse.
“It’s an exciting time because I want to work on some new moves on the pommel horse, get my name in the code and improve my start value on both that and the floor”. However, there was someone who reportedly looked a little less than happy – his teammate Louis Smith. Eep.
“But I would rather lose to Max than anyone else, it means the gold is coming back to Britain”. I knew it was there if I pulled it together and it is a bit special. “I just tried to keep focus”.
Eight years on, and at another Games, team-mate Max Whitlock thrilled the nation by winning Britain’s first gymnastics gold at an Olympics and added to the historic moment by claiming a second less than two hours later.
The 27-year-old gymnast broke down in tears on the podium as he received his fourth Olympic medal.
The floor came first where Max performed an outstanding routine with very few errors to earn a score of 15.633, enough to be crowned champion.
“It was just such a insane competition, with so many incredible things happening in such a short space of time”.
DFS is the official homeware partner for Team GB and has created the limited edition Britannia range of upholstered furniture that will be placed in British House – Team GB headquarters in Rio.
Louis Smith MBE said: “I would have loved to have won the gold medal”.
“We all want to go to the Olympics and reach that dream of getting a gold medal; to see Max achieve that is unbelievable, it shows it is achievable”.
Hmm. Luckily for Louis, others have stuck up for him, sharing a video of the Strictly Come Dancing victor hugging Max behind the scenes.
“What a legacy Max is already building. We’ve got a day off now which would be much appreciated – I’m dying on my arse here”.
“I have always played catch up to Max since I came back to the sport following my break after London 2012”.
A gold in his next event, the men’s keirin on Tuesday, would take him level with Sir Chris.
And he said: “This has outdone all of my expectations and I am proud to say I have made history”.
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Leah, who’s a fellow gymnast, missed out on celebrating Max’s achievements in person (she chose not to travel to Rio due to fears over the Zika virus) but revealed to the Daily Mail that she sent him a simple text straight afterwards, saying: “I sent him a message that just said “Oh my God you’re Olympic champion”!”
