Max Whitlock wins gymnastics gold medal to make Olympic history for Great Britain

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Mark Staniforth15 August 2016

Max Whitlock made history by becoming Great Britain's first Olympic gymnastics gold medallist on Sunday.

The 23-year-old produced a flawless routine on the floor apparatus to score 15.633 and beat two Brazilians - Diego Hypolito and Arthur Mariano - into second and third.

It was an extraordinary result from Whitlock, who was also set to compete in his favoured pommel horse event later on Sunday.

Whitlock's medal was his second of the Games after he claimed bronze in the men's all-around competition on Wednesday.

Whitlock had started the floor apparatus as a strong contender but it was assumed his best chance of breaking his nation's gold medal duck would come later.

All-around champion Kohei Uchimura was first to go and after stepping out early in his routine he scored a relatively modest 15.241.

After a strong display from home favourite Hypolito, Whitlock nailed his own routine and a succession of likely challengers in the eight-man final proceeded to fall short.

Team-mate Kristian Thomas scored 15.058 which would eventually place him seventh, while Japan's hot favourite Kenzo Shirai made a series of errors and polled only 15.366.

American Mikulak, who had exceeded Whitlock's total in the past, also seemed struck by nerves and produced a poor routine which would rank him last.

When the final score was announced Whitlock was submerged by team-mates and staff, while the Brazilian silver and bronze medallists embraced as the crowd roared.

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