Brit Max Whitlock, the only male gymnast to win three individual medals (and two golds) in Rio, will not compete in the all-around anymore.
Whitlock, 24, won Olympic floor exercise and pommel horse titles.
He also placed third in the all-around behind Japan’s Kohei Uchimura and Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev, the clear favorites for the world championships in Montreal next month.
Whitlock, who previously took all-around silver to Uchimura at 2014 Worlds, has narrowed his focus from the six-event all-around to floor and pommel horse in hopes of extending his career for another two Olympics.
For Tokyo 2020, gymnastics rosters will include four men for the team event, where three are used on each of the six apparatuses.
Two more athletes per nation can qualify for individual events only. Whitlock eyes one of those spots.
“If I want to continue in the sport for as long as I do, which is another seven years ... I have to drop my hours. I have to reduce what I’m doing,” Whitlock said in an ITV interview, confirming reports earlier this summer quoting him and his coach about giving up the all-around.
Whitlock is the only British gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal.
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