Leeds gymnast Luke Whitehouse eyes LA Olympics and historic feat with Nile Wilson and Max Whitlock examples

In the third of our new Big Interview features, Lee Sobot catches up with Leeds Gymnastics Club star Luke Whitehouse, already an Olympian, World Championships silver medallist and four-time European champion – at just 23 years of age.

Luke, you’ve already achieved a lot at just 23 years of age be it Olympics, World Championships or European Championships. But what would you say has been the standout highlight – if they can be compared?

“I think since 2022 my career’s really taken off. One clear achievement? Obviously the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and that whole experience of it being a dream of mine since being a little boy. To then achieve that dream alongside my childhood hero Max Whitlock was incredible.

“But I think the standout highlight has probably been my second European Championships gold medal and the story behind it. It was a case of getting to the Championships and then winning the title and then getting selected for the Olympic Games after that so I think that medal probably means the most to me.

“There’s also the Worlds silver medal from last year at the end of the year so obviously my first world medal, only just missing out on gold. But that silver medal was another crazy story as I nearly didn’t even make it to the final. I just didn’t perform great in the qualification but scraped into the final and then made it happen.”

How do the Olympics compare to the World Championships then in gymnastics?

“For me, I think the holy grail would be Olympic champion. Just the prestige of the event and obviously the dream that every young athlete has of going to the Olympic Games. I want to be Olympic champion. But I want to be a World Champion as well.”

There’s also quite a story about your European victories, isn’t there? Tell us a bit about that?

“Last year I became the first gymnast to win three consecutive floor titles at the European Championships so 2023, 2024 and 2025 and that hasn’t been done since the 1960s. So this year hopefully I can go and make history and become the first gymnast to do it four times.”

What did that mean to you then, doing something that hasn't been done since the 1960s?

“I try not to really think of it, especially when I’m competing, I like to just go competition by competition. But it’s just a super incredible achievement and to do it at the age I’ve done it – I still can’t quite believe it. I don’t think I’ll be able to realise the achievements that I’ve done at European level, World level and then hopefully going onto Olympic level – I don’t think I’ll really understand the achievements until maybe I have finished gymnastics. It’s crazy.”

What’s next then firstly in the short term goals?

“We have just had the British Championships and all this year until the Europeans it’s all about getting selection scores and selection standards to get put in the team for the Europeans or Commonwealth Games. The Europeans and the Commonwealths are both this summer and in British Gymnastics you’ll either go to one or the other so for me probably the Europeans is the one that I want to go to just because of the team aspect and winning the four in a row.”

What are your best events then?

“I do the all round which is the floor, the pommel, the rings, vault, parallel bars and the high bar. I wouldn’t say I am a specialist on the floor but I have found most success on the floor. I guess I’ll be competing in the all round with the hopes to get into the floor final and the all round final.”

And long term it must be all about the 2028 Olympics I guess?

“Yeah it’s definitely up there! This year at the World Championships at the end of the year we need to qualify a team in a top three position to automatically qualify a team. If we don’t do that, we’ll have to wait until the year after to qualify. I think it’s top eight.

“So, hopefully fingers crossed this year we do our job as a team and get that selection earlier so then we can really focus on 2028. But for me the 2028 Olympics is a really big goal. In terms of a team result – medalling on that podium and then becoming Olympic champion on the floor. The LA Olympic Games is a big goal of mine and I am working hard to get there.”

Given what you have achieved so far, you must feel there is a serious chance of that being achievable?

“Yeah it’s definitely realistic. I think the work that I put in day to day and the achievements that I’ve already got, it proves that I’m definitely good enough to be a contender for that Olympic title on the floor.”

Max Whitlock has clearly been a big role model for you but from a Leeds perspective obviously the city has had Nile Wilson win an Olympic medal too. How much of an inspiration has Nile been to you?

“A huge inspiration training alongside the likes of Nile. He’s been there, he’s done it, he’s got the results so I have been looking up to him as a young athlete thinking ‘why can’t that be me’. He was a huge inspiration not only to me, but I know the rest of Leeds and the rest of the country as well.”

Nile has obviously retired now, do you see much of him down here in the gym?

“Not in the gym but outside of the gym and at competitions. He was there at the British Championships and it’s always good to catch up with Nile. I remember at the Olympics he sent me a voice note saying how proud he was and just to go do my thing. For me it was quite crazy, getting messages from all these different people that I have looked up to as a kid. It was a bit surreal really.”

And Max? You ended up on the same team as him?

“There’s a cool picture of me and Max, I think it was from the 2013 British Championships and me and my dad were actually sat next to his family. After the competition I got a picture of Max with all these medals. I have always looked up to Max and then in 2024 so 11 years later I made the Olympic team with him, which was a full circle moment.”

So what was it like actually competing at the Olympics then – especially at such a young age?

“It was such a crazy experience, walking into the arena and seeing the big Olympic rings everywhere and the whole Olympic Village. I remember one morning we were walking to the bus and we just walked past Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal and got a picture of them.

“It was just crazy seeing the amount of world-class athletes and you’re part of it which was an incredible experience. Obviously I made the floor final which was one of the key goals, sadly missed out on a medal. But it’s all part of the journey, all part of the learning.

“Obviously the team result as well, missing out on the medal coming fourth, I think that just made the team even more hungry.”

So how did it all begin for you? I remember interviewing Nile when he was younger and his dad Neil said he started gymnastics because he was so hyperactive? He said he was like a cat. What about yourself?

“I just joined an after school club at my local primary school. I was always a sporty kid, athletics, swimming, tennis, obviously gymnastics as well. I started at my local primary school Salterhebble and just went from there really.

“It wasn’t until I was nine-ten years old where I fully started to focus on the gymnastics at a club in Halifax and then in 2017 I moved to Leeds, finished my junior career here, went to the Junior Worlds, the European Youth Olympics and it just took off really.”

What schools and clubs then?

"I was born in Halifax, still live there today. My primary school was Salterhebble and then I moved to Copley because it was a feeder school for I think it was Ryburn but then I ended up going to Brooksbank which was a sports school because they were really supportive with the gymnastics.

“And then I went to Huddersfield New College where I studied sport and exercise science and then I took a year off which ended up being Covid year and then after that, I decided to go to university at Leeds Beckett. I always wanted a plan B studying sport and exercise therapy which also fits along with the gymnastics, just because I wanted a plan B really. I think education's really important.

“You never know how long a sporting career is going to last so that was one of the main reasons. Club wise I started at a club in Halifax called Diamonds and then Leeds Gymnastics Club as well.”

So, we can definitely claim you as Leeds’ own then now?

“Definitely Leeds, no disrespect to Halifax but yeah!”

And what does that mean to you then? Flying the flag for Leeds with its rich sporting tradition, following athletes like Nile, the Brownlee brothers, Nicola Adams, Jack Laugher and the divers?

“I think it’s incredible to be putting my name alongside these incredible athletes. I think being in Leeds and the community at Leeds Gymnastics Club, it’s not just my success, but the success wouldn’t be possible without everyone else involved as well.

“It’s credit to everyone involved – my coaches, the people you don’t see that are in the offices as well, my team-mates, we’ve got such an amazing group of lads here in Leeds that we kind of just bounce off each other, and I think that’s why we are the best gymnastics club in the country.”

So when you are in Leeds are you getting recognised yet or is it still a bit away from that?

“Definitely straight after the Olympics it was pretty crazy but since then it’s died down which I’m kind of glad about. I’m not one of those people who is really flashy and wanting to be recognised.

“The weirdest thing was I went on holiday straight after the Games to Cape Verde. I thought it was the middle of nowhere. But that is the most I’ve been recognised in my life so that was a weird one, just going to breakfast and someone’s like ‘Luke Whitehouse, is that you?’ It was crazy but incredible to have that support and be recognised. The support from Leeds, Leeds Gymnastics Club and Leeds Beckett University is incredible.”

Have you thought about the very long term then because at your age you could end up competing at a few Olympics?

“I hope so, as long as the body can hold up. But that’s the thing with gymnastics, it’s one of those sports where one little loss of concentration and it can be very dangerous. Injuries in gymnastics are pretty common. But it’s just about managing the body and doing the right amount of preparation and work to be able to do the routines and skills safely and successfully.”

And there is of course a life away from gymnastics so tell us a little bit about yours?

“I’m in the gym six days a week maybe six hours a day. Outside of gymnastics I’m at Leeds Beckett University studying sport and exercise therapy. Education for me was really important to kind of have that plan B and something to fall back on. I think the 10 year goal is to open my own gymnastics club and give back to the community.

“Gymnastics for me has shaped my life and I think to give that back and for other people to experience what I’ve experienced would be incredible. Gymnastics is just one of those sports that can build you as a young person in terms of agility, balance, all these sorts of fundamentals but also in terms of confidence and never giving up and things, really focusing on building towards something special.”

Is there any time for anything else or any hobbies at all?

"Not at the minute, but I've skied my whole life so that's definitely one of the things that I want to get back to when I can. I haven't done it for the last eight years just because of the risk of injury. But skiing when I get a chance and a big skiing holiday with my family would be up there."

Speaking of your family – they must provide a big support network too?

“I’ve got a big support network, mum and dad, brother, grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins. Too many to name but obviously they’re very supportive and it’s been a sacrifice from them as well as it has been for me – obviously missing out on family events and birthdays and stuff like that. But I think when they get to come and watch you at the Olympic Games, it makes it all worthwhile.”