Max Whitlock leads Team GB men for Tokyo Olympics
The British Olympic Association announced the men’s artistic team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on Monday. Team GB, led by two-time Olympic champion Max Whitlock, will also include reigning World parallel bars champion Joe Fraser, reigning British all-around champion James Hall and 2021 European medallist Giarnni Regini-Moran.
“I have no doubt the four athletes selected today will be up there challenging for medals in Tokyo come July,” said Team GB chief Mark England.
Whitlock, now 28 years old, is the only Olympic veteran of the four. He made history at the 2016 Rio Games when he became the first British gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal on floor exercise. He then went on to win gold in pommel horse, tallying two of the four medals for Team GB that games.
Whitlock’s three teammates will be making their Olympic debuts in the Japanese capital, including 22-year-old Joe Fraser, who has also made history of his own. Fraser became the first British gymnast to secure a gold medal on parallel bars at the World Championships back in 2019. He also earned a top 10 all-around finish at those same Worlds.
“I’ve been training since I was five years old for this opportunity,” said Fraser. “Now I just can’t wait to get out there and compete with teammates I’ve known my whole life and show the world what we can do.”
One of these teammates includes Hall, who despite just now making his first Olympic appearance, has been exposed to high-level competition for several years. The 25-year-old has medalled for Team England at the Commonwealth Games and is a two-time European medallist.
Rounding out the team is Regini-Moran, also 22, who made his name early at the junior level as both a Youth Olympic Games champion and European champion. After two years away due to injury, Regini-Moran came back as a member of the 2019 World Championships team. He claimed his first major senior medal earlier this year, winning bronze in the European Championships vault final.
At Britain’s last Olympics appearance, Whitlock and Team GB placed fourth in the team final behind Japan, Russia and China.
“To think this is my third Olympic Games is very surreal,” said Whitlock. “I’m always honored to be picked to represent Team GB and hopefully we can go out there and do an amazing job.”
Team GB’s women’s artistic and trampoline teams are set to be announced at the beginning of June.
