British WAG (and MAG!) talk

[Gymfan93]

Whitlock confirms he will retire after Paris. That will definitely change the dynamics of team selection for MAG.

Max Whitlock to retire after Paris 2024 Olympics

Britain's most successful gymnast Max Whitlock says it "feels right" to announce that he will retire after the Olympics this summer.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[KorbutFan]

I like how British Gymnastics even refer to him as the greatest lol sorry Louis.

 

[tempest]

I have to feel somewhat bad for Louis because he earned a gold medal winning score but got the silver… I would forever be salty

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Both his historic firsts got delivered alongside a slap in the face in London, fair to say.

 

[Doug1233]

To be honest, I have zero sympathy for the Chocolate Starfish!

 

[KorbutFan]

Whitlock is out of Euros (a slight wrist injury reportedly) Luke Whitehouse will replace him.

 

[KorbutFan]

I don’t know if the Euros are being shown on BBC Red Button but BBC Three will be showing highlights at 19.00 on both Sat/Sun.

 

[RAFIKI]

Preview article from the Beeb:

European Gymnastics Championships 2024: Max Whitlock on Harry Hepworth

Meet some of Great Britain's gymnasts who are hoping for European success this month before this summer's Olympics.

www.bbc.co.uk

I didn’t know about Hepworth’s legs and Kinsella’s brush with retirement was also a surprise considering she’s talked about LA. The pill can certainly mess with you.

It’s so weird having TF last

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Alice has had a helluva couple of years. I've thought for a while she was at higher risk of burnout than most elite athletes, even without any other complicating factors.

There was the whirlwind of Tokyo. Competing injured, medalling, and then surgery in I think September 2021. She was back doing AA by mid March 2022, which is astonishingly early really. CWG and Euros back to back in summer, and we all saw the level of exhaustion there. The elation of the world team silver then the disappointment of just missing AA bronze, then domestic competitions in early 2023 in preparation for a March Euros.

Barely time to pause for breath.

 

[Joe]

I love this guy. Such a lovely, humble, determined and talented gymnast.

 

[blake]

Alice has had a helluva couple of years. I've thought for a while she was at higher risk of burnout than most elite athletes, even without any other complicating factors.

There was the whirlwind of Tokyo. Competing injured, medalling, and then surgery in I think September 2021. She was back doing AA by mid March 2022, which is astonishingly early really. CWG and Euros back to back in summer, and we all saw the level of exhaustion there. The elation of the world team silver then the disappointment of just missing AA bronze, then domestic competitions in early 2023 in preparation for a March Euros.

Barely time to pause for breath.

I just re-watched the 2017 Stuttgart WC which was her first international meet I believe. The improvement from there to the 2022 worlds AA final is remarkable. I hope she is healthy and has a great performance in Paris.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Apparently Becky lost a whole thumbnail a couple of weeks ago, and had to have emergency surgery. Urgh. GB are absolutely world leading when it comes to manky injuries. Starting to think they're now in the repayment phase of whatever Faustian pact was made for the China vault rotation in 2021.