“Something was itching away at me constantly, it has been for the last year, it doesn’t sit right, it feels unfinished, incomplete.
“I feel like I’ve got an opportunity in front of me, and I’ll never get this again. So I’m going back in, a three-year stint, I want to make it to my fifth Olympic Games.”
Whitlock will be 35 when the LA Games start and faces the challenge to get back into peak shape to compete again.
“I had a year out completely, I’ve come back in slowly,” he said.
Next year, the English Championships, the British Championships and the Commonwealth Games will all be taking place, giving Max the opportunity to get back on the (pommel) horse competitively.