Max Whitlock has been crowned double Olympic gymnastics champion in Rio after taking both the men’s floor and pommel horse titles, with Louis Smith MBE taking an incredible pommel silver.
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However, she had to share the limelight in the Rio Olympic Arena as Whitlock stole the spotlight from Uchimura, who had been looking to add to his team and all-around gold but finished fifth on the floor.
Max went for a hard routine to score 15.966 and take his second gold medal, with Louis winning silver.
He said: “I received so many negative comments when the team selection was made saying I shouldn’t be in the team”. In the team final, he competed on four of the six apparatus to help the British men finish third. The 20-year-old will hope to become the Twist King in Tokyo, perhaps.
“I couldn’t really take in what I’d done on the floor”.
Biles became the first American woman to win the Olympic vault title and the first to win three gold at the same Games after her team and all-around successes.
Until Mustafina mounted the bars, the USA had swept the board as Biles scooped the team, all around and vault golds.
It bettered Smith’s score of 15.833 but no other athletes came close to the duo meaning that they shared the two top spots on the podium together – with Smith repeating his silver medal triumph from London 2012.
One of those was Whitlock, and having won gold in the floor exercise just an hour earlier, provided another near-perfect exhibition to scoop another gold with a score of 15.966.
An excellent routine, which included a diagonal tumble, two exquisite landings and an impeccable handstand, produced a score of 15.633.
But it was Whitlock who made it onto the podium.
There was more joy for the home fans as Arthur Mariano picked up the bronze.
Whitlock’s performance had immediately followed that of the local hero, Diego Hypólito, whose routine had earned him a competition-best 15.533.
And ‘Emma [PB] also wrote on Twitter: ‘When opponents from different teams can show sportsmanship and respect, it’s damn right shameful Louis Smith couldn’t for his own team mate’.
Whitlock has two idols – Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt and Japanese three-time Olympics gymnastics champion Kohei Uchimura.
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Tweddle added: “I remember Max when he was a junior and I remember watching him thinking “there’s something special about him”. That method has now been disabled.
