Whitlock eyes Olympic history - and he's checked online

Max Whitlock (centre) has won six Olympic medals including three golds

Max Whitlock has been checking online to make absolutely sure he really is going for a record at Paris 2024.

He has even roped in friends to double-check he can become the first gymnast to win medals on the same apparatus at four consecutive Olympics.

If he adds to his two golds and one bronze on pommel horse, he can.

"I do try hard not to think about medals but it does get increasingly difficult," the 31-year-old told BBC Sport before being named in the Team GB line-up on Thursday.

"I would love to tick that kind of history box. I just think it's mad that no gymnast has ever done it. I was searching through Wikipedia and typing all these things in trying to find this history and just making sure that it's right.

"That's a real push for me. You can see my smile getting wider. I think it's exciting."

He is joined in the five-man team by world vault champion Jake Jarman, former world parallel bars champion Joe Fraser, double European floor champion Luke Whitehouse and 20-year-old Harry Hepworth.

But Courtney Tulloch, a former world bronze medallist on rings, and James Hall, who competed at Tokyo 2020 where the team came fourth, missed out.

The women's team, who will be seeking more team glory after a surprise bronze in Tokyo, features Alice Kinsella, Becky Downie, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Abigail Martin and Ruby Evans.

Depleted by injuries to the Gadirova twins Jessica and Jennifer, and British champion Ondine Achampong, the women's team is the same one which took silver at last month's European Championships.

Whitlock is 'younger version' of himself

Whitlock, who will retire after these Olympics, is approaching the Games differently as he says he has shaken off the pressure of expectation that was once "overwhelming".

Britain's most successful gymnast took an 18-month break from the sport to deal with mental health struggles after the Tokyo Games before returning after deciding it would be "quitting", rather than "retiring", if he ended his career then.

"I feel like I'm almost a refreshed version of myself, almost a younger version of myself," he said. "[One] that's kind of excited to take on challenges rather than fearing the overwhelming expectations from those challenges.

"So back to the mindset I had when I was young, before the kind of pressure got to a level where sometimes I had the weight of the world on my shoulders.

"So I'm going to give my best shot - and that's all I can do."

While Whitlock is the most experienced member of the team, Hepworth is a relatively new face on the global stage and has been selected ahead of his "idol" Tulloch, whom he beat to the rings title at the British Championships this year.

Tulloch, 28, said "devastated doesn't quite cut it" after missing out on selection for a third successive Games.

"This one really hurts," he wrote in a social media post. "I gave everything to this cycle - every competition, every medal. I have been a part of every major international competition for the last four years, but I won't get to compete on the biggest stage of all.

"Missing out on Rio, Tokyo and now Paris is devastating. The mental and physical toll in immense."

Hepworth made his mark this year when he beat Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat to take floor gold at the World Cup in Cottbus, Germany, and Whitlock has called him "one to look out for".

Downie back after 'hard journey'

The women's team blends experience with youth, with Alice Kinsella the only remaining gymnast from the Tokyo bronze-winning team.

She fought through the pain of an ankle ligament injury in Japan and is hoping for a much better experience this time around, but is "not thinking about any medals".

"Nothing can be worse than Tokyo," Kinsella, 23, told BBC Sport.

There is also a return to a third Games for Becky Downie after she was controversially not selected for Tokyo and thought she would be retiring.

"It’s been such a hard journey to not just come back from, but to come back and to be still at the level that I'm at," said the 32-year-old, who was awarded an MBE this year after speaking about abuse in the sport.

"I think the biggest thing that kept me going was I still had that belief deep down that I could achieve an Olympic medal in my event."

Meanwhile, two-time Commonwealth bars gold medallist Georgia-Mae Fenton gets her chance after being a reserve in Tokyo.

Abigail Martin, 16, is in her first year as a senior gymnast, while Wales' Ruby Evans, 17, is selected after shining at the British Championships where she came second to Achampong in the all-around competition.

Additional research by Hannah Lees