Emotional moment Olympic medalist Max Whitlock is surprised by his daughter at the airport
4 August 2021, 10:07 | Updated: 4 August 2021, 10:14
Max Whitlock's daughter runs to greet him as he lands in London from Tokyo Olympics
Gymnast Max Whitlock got a heartwarming homecoming surprise after his Olympic win.
Gymnastics medalist Max Whitlock was greeted by his daughter after arriving home from the Tokyo Olympics.
The 28-year-old won gold in the men's pommel horse final at the weekend, nine years after his first games in London 2012.
And after a 14 hour flight back home, he had the best surprise waiting for him at the airport in the form of his daughter Willow.
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Max Whitlock gives daughter his gold medal from Tokyo Olympics and toy from Japan
Sharing the adorable moment on Instagram, Max revealed his wife, Leah hadn’t told him little Willow would be at Heathrow.
“What an amazing surprise, my family kept it a secret so I didn’t think they were meeting me at the airport. Wow it feels good to be home 😊,” he wrote.
Matt Baker commented: “Everything about this is wonderful ❤️🧡”.
Fellow gymnast Dominick Cunningham wrote: “Awww this is Goals 😍💜,” while Paralympian Olivia Breen added: “This is amazing!!! 😍😍”
Meanwhile, back in Tokyo Max set out his stall with an amazing pommel horse routine on Sunday with a score of 15.583.
After bagging his sixth Olympic medal, Max told BBC Sport: “I feel lost for words. I am completely overwhelmed and it feels kind of surreal.
“I had seen the other sports, gold medals flowing in and I wanted to do the same here. Incredible journey.”
He went on to say there was extra pressure to defend his title, adding: “It is a million times harder. The pressure was there and I could feel it. Experience pays a lot in situations like this.
“Being first up meant I had to go all out. I couldn’t watch the scores. I had to go all out.
“That was the biggest routine I had been training for. I couldn’t have done any more.”
Max has now become the most successful British gymnast ever, with three gold and three bronze medals.
He also hasn't ruled out competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
