Halifax gymnastics star Whitehouse has his eyes on the big prizes ahead of Commonwealth Games debut

Whitehouse, 24, from Skirocat Green, will make his debut in the Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow, which starts on Thursday, July 23.

And after 2025 was his most successful year yet, he believes he is on course for that path to continue.

"I want to be Olympic and World champion, and I think I'm on the right path, the right journey, to get there," he said.

"The European Championships, I've won four gold medals there now.

"Going to the Commonwealth Games, hopefully, fingers crossed, all the hard work will be worth it and I win some medals there too.

"I'm feeling really good at the minute, training's going well. I'm definitely on the right trajectory."

Whitehouse is a former Salterhebble Primary School pupil and began his gymnastics journey aged five at an after-school club there, before training at Diamonds Gymnastics Club in Boothtown.

"I did a load of different sports when I was younger," he said. "Athletics was the main one but gymnastics, swimming, tennis, football.

"When I was about ten, I decided to really focus on gymnastics.

"I think I just enjoyed it the most, just flying through the air.

"It's the same now, I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy the sport."

Whitehouse trains six times a week, four to six hours a day.

"We do weights three times a week, but the rest of the time it's in the gym, repeating skills, doing the routines, just trying to perfect the routines and combinations," he said.

"We do an eight-to-ten week build-up, and do routines three days in a week, sometimes one routine on each apparatus, sometimes two.

"Just building the endurance the first couple of weeks and then trying to perfect them as you get closer to the competition."

Whitehouse went to the European Youth Olympics and the World Championships as a junior.

"I got onto the national squad quite late in my career, so I went into those with no expectations really and built from that into my senior career."

He then won gold on the floor on his debut in the European Championships.

"It wasn't a shock to me but it might have been to other people. I definitely knew I was capable of doing that."

Then in 2024 came his Olympic debut, where he helped Team GB to fourth spot in the men's team final before finishing sixth in the individual floor final.

No shock, just awe.

"To make that happen was incredible."

Last year, Whitehouse retained his European floor title for the third consecutive year and won the team title. He also won the floor title at the University Games and silver at the World Chamionships

"The goal is to just keep getting better and better and better, and hopefully consistency as well," said Whitehouse, for who the sport's biggest stages are feeling more like home.

"I think at the beginning, it felt a bit weird competing against people you used to look up to.

"You're competing against them, sometimes beating them.

"But it definitely feels like I belong there, it's just really exciting, you get to compete on the world stage and show off what you've been working hard on at the gym."