England gymnastics star Max Whitlock to miss Commonwealth Games with hand injury - 'Incredibly disappointed'
Updated 13/07/2026 at 11:32 GMT+1
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Three-time Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock has announced he will miss the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, revealing he has picked up a hand injury in training. Whitlock has previously won 10 medals at the Commonwealth Games, including four golds.
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The 33-year-old said he was "incredibly disappointed" to withdraw from the event in a post on Instagram.
"I’m absolutely gutted to have to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games after picking up a hand injury in training," Whitlock posted. "I’ve worked incredibly hard for the opportunity to represent Team England again, so accepting that I won’t recover in time has been incredibly disappointing.
"Sport doesn’t always go to plan, and setbacks like this are never easy, but my focus now has to be on recovering properly and coming back stronger.
"I’ll be supporting the whole Team England team and wishing every athlete the very best. I can’t wait to see what they achieve."
Whitlock is the most successful gymnast in British history, and will be a big miss from this year’s Games.
The pommel horse specialist is a six-time Olympic medallist, which includes three golds and three bronzes. He is the most successful gymnast on the pommel horse in Olympic history, with golds at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 and a bronze at London 2012.
His other Olympic gold medal came on the floor in 2016.
He is also a three-time world champion for Team GB and has achieved similar success while representing England at European and Commonwealth level.
Whitlock has won four European titles and four Commonwealth golds.
The British gymnastics star retired after the 2024 Olympics in Paris but announced in November 2025 he would be returning to competitive action with the aim of competing in the LA 2028 Games.
"I said Paris will be my last ever competition, but something's just not sitting right," Whitlock said in a video he posted on social media. "I'm not done yet. I'm coming out of retirement and I'm back.
"I remember getting off the train from Paris. It hadn't gone exactly to plan, and I remember sitting there with my family and saying, ‘I'm not done’. I will never get the opportunity again.
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"In this three-year stint up to LA Olympics, I really want to push it further than I ever done before. I'm aiming of doing something on pommel where I can really push the boundaries, do something that changes the way the pommel's done.”
"The opportunity that I have in front of me that will never come round again outweighs every single risk."
Whitlock placed fourth in the team competition at Paris 2024 and also finished fourth in the pommel competition.
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