Max Whitlock has history on his mind as he looks to complete his Commonwealth Games collection at Glasgow 2026.

Whitlock is the most decorated British gymnast in history and has come out of retirement in a bid to reach the LA 2028 Olympics, but first has eyes on representing Team England this summer.

The 33-year-old has 10 Commonwealth medals to his name but gold on his favoured pommel horse has somehow evaded him, something he wants to put right in Glasgow.

“That is one target that I haven’t managed to tick off in my Commonwealth Games journey so far, so hopefully this can be the year to do it,” he said.

“This will be my last Commonwealth Games opportunity. I am on a two-year stint back. Hopefully I can check that off and finish my Commonwealth journey on that.”

Glasgow 2026 will be a key staging post for Whitlock on his return to the sport, after initially retiring after the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The 33-year-old finished fourth on the pommel in the French capital, bringing an eight-year Olympic reign on the apparatus to an end.

But Whitlock revealed he immediately knew that was not how he wanted to finish his illustrious career, and is now raring to go for the final two years of his career.

“As soon as I stepped off the train, I sat in a café in the station and said to my family I can’t finish that way,” he said.

“I think that was raw emotion but as time went on, it was a gradual thing where I thought ‘why would I not try?’. I think it would regret not doing it. I want to give it my best shot and push the boundaries as far as I can.

“The ultimate thing that did was the way that it finished. I always said that it felt like the right time to retire after Paris 2024 and I truly believe that was the right time but it was the way that it ended.

“I came fourth, it was the only Olympic Games that I didn’t medal at and I couldn’t get rid of that feeling.

“I have got an opportunity to rewrite what the end of my career looks like. Then you start looking at different goals, different targets.

“This year is a big one, Commonwealth Games and Worlds, but checking off those targets you want to achieve along the way and that’s what motivates me.

“That Commonwealth Games target that I haven’t achieved, that motivates me massively, it is pushing me in the gym.”

Whitlock has fond memories of his three previous appearances at the Friendly Games, including his debut at Delhi 2010.

Those Games shaped the careers of so many that went on to shine at London 2012 and beyond, and Whitlock was no different.

“That shaped my career as a whole,” he reflected. “I was very inexperienced but going out there on a massive stage and being able to perform in that environment was huge for me.

“I was in a stage of my career where I was just trying to learn. That moment was a springboard for me to learn a lot from it. I have learned a lot from every Commonwealth Games.”

Whitlock has eyes on competing at his fourth Commonwealth Games this summer and adding to his impressive collection, and hopes the crowd he experienced at Glasgow 2014 will be even louder 12 years on.

“It is a close to home Games and you definitely feel that,” he said.

“I remember I was lucky enough to walk out five times into that arena back in 2014 and I got goosebumps every time. I want to relive that and hopefully it will be a good one.

“Being on a Commonwealth stage means a lot, being able to perform in front of a close to home crowd would mean so much.”