‘Max was my idol, now he’s my mate’ – how Whitlock inspired Whitehouse
“Gymnastics is one of them sports where it's so super human, like, no one else in the world can kind of do what we do,” says four-time European champion Luke Whitehouse.
The 23-year-old is clearly visualising one of his favourite floor routines as he speaks.
When his attention does snap back into the present and his mind returns to the ‘sporting shrine’ living room of his Halifax home, where he is being interviewed, a smile breaks out across his face as he states; “I love flying through the air.”
Whitehouse pauses again before adding, with a glint in his eye, “and I love showing off.”
While the Englishman is yet to attain the medal haul achieved by his countryman and “idol” Max Whitlock, he has plenty to be proud of with an otherwise enviable collection of major global and continental medals secured over the past three years.
The Paris 2024 Olympian will be the first to admit it has taken him longer to reach the summit of his sport than he had hoped as a youngster though, with many of his peers securing senior international selection – and honours – several years ahead of him.
“I did a lot of sports when I was younger, like tennis and athletics and it wasn’t until I was around nine-years-old where I realised gymnastics was what I wanted to do,” he recalls. “I didn’t get on to the national squad though until I was 18 and that was tough.
“It took a lot of hard-work and dedication, but it was also important what my parents told me, who always said it’s better to be on the squad later and not when you’re really young.
“They were right because I’ve seen people who made it at a really young age who aren’t here (in the sport) anymore.”
The gymnast is full of praise for his parents, Ian and Diane, who he insists have provided “vital support” for him throughout his journey, as well as through to the present day.
“We saw him as a young child doing it for fun and then he decided that gymnastics is what he wanted to do seriously,” recalls father Ian Whitehouse. “He didn’t make that break into the senior teams straight away and it was frustrating for him at times, but he kept going.”
Mum, Diane, continues; “It made him hungry for it and we were never the ones having to push him, he did that himself, but to see him out there at the Olympics, Worlds, Europeans or at the British Championships, it just makes us so proud.”
Such has been the transformation in the fortunes of British gymnasts in the 21st century that Whitehouse was far from short of successful role models as a youngster.
Gone are the days where Beth Tweddle and Louis Smith fought almost single-handedly to promote the respective women’s and men’s sides of the sport in the UK.
Their international successes paved the way for the likes of Max Whitlock – arguably Britain’s greatest-ever artistic gymnast – and Olympic medallist turned social media star Nile Wilson among those who Whitehouse aspired to be as a youngster.
“I would train with people like Nile Wilson (at Leeds Gymnastics Club) and watching him in the gym, then go away and come back from an Olympics (Rio 2016), with a medal made me think, ‘well, why can’t that be me?’,” Whitehouse says.
“Then Max Whitlock, he was always my hero growing up and I remember at the 2013 British Championships (when Whitehouse was 10), after the competition I got to hold all of his medals and had some pictures with him.
“At the beginning it was kind of weird being on the same team as him, but then at the 2024 Olympic Games we kind of recreated that photo and it was cool.
“I still do look up to him, but it’s gone from him being my idol to now being my mate.”
Having competed at Olympic Games and World as well as European Championships there is only one major event which has eluded him to date, the Commonwealth Games.
Whitehouse has a clear ambition to take to the floor at Glasgow 2026, having watched on from the stands during Glasgow 2014 and the most recent edition, Birmingham 2022.
“I have so many memories of the Commonwealth Games, having gone to watch Glasgow 2014 with my parents and brother and then in Birmingham I was part of the England Futures programme (for athletes identified as having future selection potential),” he says.
“We got to experience what it would be like to be part of the England team and went around the village, saw lots of events and it really made me want to be there, competing even more.”
English gymnasts have dominated the Team All-Around discipline at recent Games, winning the last three titles in a row and defending that crown will be among Whitehouse’s major aims, subject to selection.
Although, the World silver medallist does have other clear individual ambitions too.
“If you look back to the last couple Commonwealth Games, the success England has had, taking a whole sweep of medals in gymnastics is just incredible,” says Whitehouse. “It would be amazing to be part of that team, have all the spectators behind us and win gold.
“I’d of course also like to win Floor there as well, as it’s my speciality and I want to be one of the greatest floor workers (off all-time), building a legacy like Max (Whitlock) has on the Pommel Horse.
Whitehouse continues; “Not many gymnasts have won every single major and I want to be Olympic as well as World champion, so to win the Commonwealth and add it to my Europeans, would be a dream come true.”
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will run from 23 July to 2 August, with the Artistic Gymnastics programme taking place between 24-28 July. To find out how you can attain tickets to watch some of the best athletes on the planet, CLICK HERE.
