'You’ll never get two Brits on the podium' - Max Whitlock on how GB defied judge at 2012
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ByEurosport
Updated 27/05/2020 at 07:24 GMT
Max Whitlock, Kristian Thomas and Beth Tweddle recall their medal-winning experiences at the London 2012 Olympics as part of Eurosport's Return to London 2012 series.
Louis Smith
Image credit: Eurosport
All three join Orla Chennaoui at 2pm on Wednesday, repeated at 7pm, to discuss their memories of a golden games for GB.
Whitlock took bronze as part of the men's all-round team alongside Thomas, while the former also achieved the same feat in the pommel horse event.
Tweddle, meanwhile, secured a bronze medal in the uneven bars just 100 days after having keyhole surgery on a knee problem that ruled her out of the 2012 European Championships.
As part of our Return to London 2012 series, read their tales of glory below as Whitlock also reveals how Britain were written off winning more than one medal in the pommel horse final...
Whitlock: Smith and I were written off
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Louis Smith (silver) and a 19-year-old Max Whitlock (bronze) in the pommel horse
Image credit: Getty Images
I’ll tell you something that was quite interesting. Before the pommel final, an actual judge came up to my coach and said that “you’ll never get two Britons on the podium.”
So that’s something that we can walk away from and actually be really proud to have achieved that because that’s really tough, it’s really tough.
We’re judged by humans; we need to make sure we do the best routine possible and for two guys to do it, to have two Britons up on the podium was incredible.
Tweddle: A relief to win
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#Returnto2012 - ‘It took me 20 years!’ - Beth Tweddle defies nerves to win emotional bronze
Everyone says what’s that first emotion. Yes, it was happiness but it just felt like relief that having gone through that journey over the past 20 years, remembering how that heartache felt in Beijing, to finally achieve what I’d set out to especially with that journey leading up to London.
I has surgery only 100 days prior to the Games starting so I wasn’t even sure I was going to be at the Games.
So, I think the biggest thing was relief and the fact that I’d finally done it. Not just for myself but that whole support network behind you because obviously they focus on the athlete.
My parents were a taxi driver until I passed my test, my coach, they go through the ups and downs.
Amanda is in the gym 24/7 with me preparing those routines, picking me up when the competitions don’t go so well and bringing me down when I get a bit giddy. So, definitely relief.
Thomas: My risk paid off
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Kristian Thomas was part of the team that won bronze at the Team all-around event
Image credit: Reuters
It’s one of those crazy experiences. I’ve seen the video lots of times but I honestly can’t remember anything about it. Almost the whole moment was so intense it’s been wiped from my memory almost. I knew at the time it was significant and when I saw the score I knew it was significant as far as helping the team and pushing towards a medal.
But trying to remember what actually happened is kind of gone. I knew it was a bit of a risk-taking, I hadn’t been doing the vault too often in many competitions prior to the Olympics. Usually you like to have your routine settled in probably a good year to six months in advance.
This vault was certainly only in the making probably a mere six months which building up to an Olympics is not very long.
So it was a bit of a risk but equally we knew that if we took that risk and it paid off then it would pay dividends at the other end of the score.
So, grateful I guess. I probably rode my luck a little bit at the same time but that’s what sport is all about. You need to keep pushing those barriers, build up that risk at times and I’m just grateful that I was able to land on my feet and nothing else!
Whitlock 'blown away' by claiming bronze
That is an experience to remember, emotions were going all over the place. But I think we got a lot of people asking if we were disappointed because we got the bronze and that was so far from how any of us felt. We were overwhelmed with the feeling of getting a bronze medal, it was the first time in 100 years (for the men’s gymnastics team).
Going all around the six pieces, finishing on a real high after we’ve all just done good floor routines. Coming together, standing there waiting all that time for the results to come in. And to finish it with a medal we were absolutely blown away.
Thomas on his critical last floor routine
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Britain's Daniel Purvis, Max Whitlock, Louis Smith, Kristian Thomas and Sam Oldham (front, L-R)
Image credit: Reuters
I knew I was going to be the last athlete up and maybe we might be in a situation for a medal.
So I’d almost gone through that scenario in my head and that prepared me for what the crowd might feel like, for what I might feel like, the nerves might feel like and just allowed me to go out there and actually enjoy the routine rather than feel sick to the stomach of nerves which is your usual feeling in those situations.
So this particular routine is quite special to me, not only because it was the last routine but because it felt so so different to anything I’d ever done before so I almost was able to enjoy it for what it was! It was just an incredible feeling to finally get to the last tumble.
I knew I just had to get to my feet and I gave a little bit more than I usually would just to be on the safe side and take the step forward instead, rather than sitting down.
I remember that little conversation going in my head as well before the last tumble: “OK, I’ll give it a bit more than normal just to be on the safe side.” So, it’s all those little things that, until we sit down and talk about it, you almost forget.
But at the same time it was just an incredible experience, the crowd getting behind me, my teammates getting behind me, and coming down off the podium to almost celebrate with them.
Irrelevant of what score we got or what position we finished we’d done it as a team and we were just thrilled with our own achievements in that particular performance and that night.
Whitlock's dramatic pommel horse final
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England's Max Whitlock (PA Photos)
Image credit: PA Photos
Even getting into it is an achievement and for me, I was 19 I was still young, and scraping into that final was crazy. I was so happy to be in it and that helped with my mind-set when it comes to competing in a final because I just got in, it was so so close.
My whole family was watching; Scott my coach was watching every single person that went on pommel in the qualification process and I think it got to the last person because there was so many that came so close.
So I scraped in but that really helped me just think ‘I’m lucky to be here, we already have the team medal in the bag, let’s just go for the best routine that I’ve ever performed in the world. And it was a crazy experience because I talk about not watching scores, not looking at anything.
We walked through and there was a big screen right there and the gymnast before me, and he was very good and his score just popped up and I looked up at exactly the same time. I saw his score and it was a big score and usually that would have completely thrown me in a negative way.
But I actually just remember thinking ‘this was always going to be so difficult, I just need to give it everything because a medal is so hard.’
I went there, I did my routine, and it was actually the best routine that I’ve ever performed in that whole build up, for many many years the cleanest routine that I’ve ever done and I did it at the right time! Which just happened to be, amazing!
#Returnto2012
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#Returnto2012 - Looking back on an iconic opening ceremony
You can watch Return to London 2012 from May 24-31 on Eurosport 2. The Opening Ceremony is live on Sunday at 4pm, and from Monday to Saturday next week we will have daily shows involving some of the biggest names from the Games.
Sunday 24th May (4pm) will see Eurosport 2 screen the widely acclaimed Opening Ceremony from the Olympic Stadium.
Monday 25th May (2pm and 4pm) will focus on cycling with Sir Bradley Wiggins and Lizzie Deignan discussing road cycling before six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy and Jo Rowsell review the unprecedented Team GB successes in the velodrome.
Tuesday 26th May (2pm, replayed at 7pm) will see Tom Daley join the team to review his medal-winning performance in diving whilst Adam Peaty – ear-marked as a future prospect back in 2012 - and double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington will reflect on the big stories of the Games from the pool.
Wednesday 27th May (2pm, replayed at 7pm) will feature gymnasts Max Whitlock, Beth Tweddle and Kristian Thomas looking back on a Games that saw Team GB secure four medals for the first time in a single Olympics and kick-start a golden era for the sport in the UK.
Thursday 28th May (2pm, replayed at 7pm) will see rower Helen Glover, winner of the first Team GB gold of the Games, as well as five-time Olympic medallist Kath Grainger and Men’s Eight medallist Greg Searle, discussing the memorable moments from Eton Dorney.
Friday 29th May (2pm, replayed at 7pm) focuses on combat sports with boxing star Anthony Agogo discussing his and Team GB’s impressive performances in the ring, whilst medal-winning pair Jade Jones and Gemma Gibbons reflect on their taekwondo and judo successes respectively.
Saturday 30th May (2pm, replayed at 7pm) will give viewers the chance to relive the iconic night of the games – known ever since as Super Saturday. On a memorable night at the Olympic Stadium, Team GB secured three gold medals with Greg Rutherford, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Sir Mo Farah all topping the podium. Greg and Mo will look back on the historic evening and discuss some of the other seminal moments. Seb Coe and Tony Minichiello also join the chat.
Sunday 31st May (midnight) will see the week come to a close with Boyle’s equally impressive Closing Ceremony to book-end a celebratory period in the country’s sporting history.
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