Which apparatus did Max Whitlock win Olympic gold on in both 2016 and 2020?

Max Whitlock won Olympic gold on the pommel horse in both 2016 and 2020.

At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Whitlock scored 15.966 in the pommel horse final to defeat teammate Louis Smith. The victory was especially significant for Great Britain: it was the country’s first Olympic gold medal in the men’s pommel horse. Whitlock also won floor exercise gold and all-around bronze in Rio.

The Tokyo Games were held in 2021 but officially designated the 2020 Summer Olympics. Whitlock successfully defended his pommel horse title with a score of 15.583, becoming the first British gymnast to win three Olympic gold medals. He concentrated on the apparatus after choosing not to defend his Rio floor exercise title.

The pommel horse is contested by swinging the body around two handles, or pommels, while supporting weight on the hands. It is often confused with the parallel bars or horizontal bar, but those apparatus require different grips, body positions and skill groups. Whitlock became one of the event’s defining specialists.