Paris 2024: Team GB's Max Whitlock misses medal in Olympics ...

Max Whitlock missed out on a medal at his final Olympic Games as he finished fourth in the men's pommel horse final at Paris 2024.

Whitlock, the gold medallist in Rio and Tokyo, scored 15.200 in his last ever routine, which had placed him initially among the medals, but Kazakhstan’s Nariman Kurbanov, who opened the final, and Stephen Nedoroscik, the American, both outdid his score.

Whitlock started confidently and went all-out in search of a third straight title, but a slight leg-split was enough to dock him a few vital hundredths, with that one single error potentially the difference between fourth and gold.

Following his dismount, Whitlock embraced his coach Scott Hann, knowing that he had not done enough to retain his title, despite the fact that he had equalled the top score in qualifying.

He was succeeded as Olympic champion by Ireland's Rhys McClenaghan, a two-time world champion, who produced a stunning performance to top the rankings with 15.533.

Nedoroscik, the US champion, went for a bold routine full of flair and originality to score 15.300, knocking Whitlock out of bronze position and ultimately out of medal contention as his final Olympics chapter ended without a medal.

The Netherlands' Loran de Munck and South Korea's Woong Hur both fell off the horse during their routines to ruin any hopes they both had of medalling, but they were both allowed to finish.

"I'm sorry, I'm annoyed I'm getting upset," Whitlock told Eurosport afterwards.

"I almost find it hard to control it. I don't want you to take these tears the wrong way; I'm extremely happy. I'm gutted it didn't end the way I hoped it would.

"I'm extremely proud. This is my last competition that I'll ever do. Then I'm done. I can't thank anybody enough. My family, my coach Scott, who was there with me on the floor today. He's been through everything. It was a huge challenge even getting here.

"We made it here and I want to say a huge thank you to Scott, the people around me, my family. Everyone in here watching supporting me. The point where I could look up to the audience and see my family felt amazing, especially at the end there.

"I want to thank everybody for the support. Twenty-four years, and now I'm done. I really hoped it could end in a bit of a better way, but I always said coming in here, it doesn't matter what the result is, I'd made the decision that this was my last competition. Not based on what the outcome was, it was based on trying to make my fourth Olympic Games, giving myself the opportunity that I might not have had.

"I gave myself that opportunity and gave it a good shot, and that's better than stopping when you're fearing failure, because if I'd stopped after Tokyo, that would have been me quitting.

"I've given it the best shot I possibly can and I'm here today and I'm grateful for the journey I've had, so I want to say thank you to each and every person that has supported me along the way."

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