With the season of Spring in full swing and Summer fast approaching, we can start looking forward to what will be an enthralling year of sport. The big event of the Summer for sports fans will be the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Team GB expected to enter teams in most events.
It is a chance for fans of all sports to come together and watch the best athletes in the world go head-to-head to win what is arguably the most historic title on the planet in their respective sports. Here at Engage we will be doing a mini series of what to expect as the Olympics approach.
Can Team GB flip their way to the podium in gymnastics? Artistic gymnastics was introduced in the first games of the modern era in 1896 and has been a feature in every Olympic Games since then. Only men competed for the first 32 years, before the introduction of the women’s competition in 1928. As of 2024, there are eight events for the men and six events for the women with four events that are the same.
Trampolining was introduced in the Sydney 2000 games with both a men’s and women’s event. Since its inception at the Olympics in 2000, 14 of the 36 medals awarded have gone to athletes from the Republic of China. A women’s only event called Rhythmic gymnastics is the other event rounding up the gymnastics discipline entering the games in 1984.
At Paris 2024, athletes can expect to perform at the famous Bercy Arena. Built in 1984, athletes will perform in a venue that has hosted the Paris Masters as well as Madonna and Paul McCartney concerts. Easily accessible for fans via the ‘Gare De Lyon’ Metro stop, it is the perfect place for athletes to make history in a place with so much legacy attached to it.
So who will be competing for Team GB? Team GB have had good success in recent years in gymnastics, with Paris 2024 expected to be no different. Max Whitlock, Britain’s most successful gymnast, will return for one last Olympic Games as the 31-year old announced he will be retiring after Paris. The 3 time Olympic Champion looks to defend his pommel horse title in Paris one more time after doubts over his career after Tokyo 2020. Can the greatest ever Briton do it one more time?
The 2022 and 2023 World Champion on the pommel horse, Rhys McClenaghan, will pose a threat for Whitlock. The Irishman’s impressive form at only 24 years old makes him a strong favourite for the Olympic title in 2024, while runner-up in 2023, Khoi Young will also be eager to get his hands on an Olympic gold.
Two-time European Champion in the floor exercise, Luke Whitehouse, will also be targeting Olympic success. The 21-year old won gold in Rimini a few weeks ago defending his European title from 2023 after Whitlock didn’t travel due to injury. Could it be success for the Leeds man in Paris?
Jake Jarman is another youngster who is a medal contender in Paris after gold in the vault in Rimini as well as World Championship gold the year before. A possible medal haul from the British team is prominent.
Beth Tweddle was the first ever British woman to win an individual Olympic medal in 2012, winning bronze on the uneven bar. Four years later Amy Tinkler repeated the feat in the women’s floor exercise at Rio 2016. In 2021, in the women’s team event, the team consisting of Alice Kinsella, Amelie Morgan and Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova made it three medals in three Olympics for Team GB women’s artistic gymnastics.
Meanwhile, there has also been success in the women’s trampolining with Bryony Page winning consecutive medals in 2016 and 2021. After World Championship Gold in 2023 in Birmingham, she will be looking to improve on her silver and bronze medals and become Olympic Champion in Paris.
Bronze medal winner on the horizontal bar in Rio in 2016, Nile Wilson, will not be competing at Paris 2024 after announcing his retirement in 2021 before Tokyo. Unlike Whitlock, Wilson decided not to return to the sport after a decorated career, and instead has made a successful career in YouTube. The former World Silver medallist also opened up about the reason for his retirement in a very interesting TED Talk about his battles with mental health in elite sport.
Will we see a British medal haul in gymnastics? There is certainly a strong possibility. With Max Whitlock and Bryony Page returning and a considerable amount of new talent coming through, we could see Team GB’s best Olympic Gymnastics team yet. Want to see how they get on live from the best seats in the house? Enquire with Engage Hospitality to find out their Olympic Games offers for gymnastics.
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