Three-time Olympic champion Max Whitlock is coming out of retirement with his sights set on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic.
Although he had previously said that the 2024 Paris Olympics would be his final Games, he is now aiming to return to competition.
Whitlock told The Times he feels his career is incomplete because he didn’t win a medal at the Paris Olympics.
He said, "I was sitting in a station with my family in a cafe for a little bit [soon after Paris] and I said to them, 'I'm not done, I can't finish it like that'.
Whitlock, who will be 35 by the time of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics continued, "It was the raw emotion of getting back to the UK and just feeling like I can't end it like that. Something just didn't feel right."
"Unfinished is the exact word. My career's just not complete. It was just really gnawing away at me. I thought: 'It's the right time for me to retire but it's not the right way'," he added.
Whitlock has won multiple Olympic medals including two golds on pommel horse and a floor gold.
"That's something that spooks me if I'm really honest because I was pushing it a bit going into Paris in terms of my age," Whitlock added.
He now faces the challenge of returning to top physical condition and competing against much younger gymnasts, with major competitions like the English Championships, British Championships and Commonwealth Games coming up next year as key steps in his preparation.
