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ATHLETES
MAX WHITLOCK OBE
Max Whitlock OBE is the most successful gymnast in British History, with over 30 major Championship medals to his name including, four European and World titles as well as three Olympic titles.
The Hertfordshire born gymnast won three medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and made his World Championship debut the following year.
At the 2012 Olympics in London, Whitlock won bronze in the men's pommel horse final and another bronze as part of the men's team final.
Three years later he made history by becoming the first male Brit to win gold at a World Championships with victory in the pommel horse. Max also won silver in the floor and team event.
But more history was to be created at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when he won Great Britain’s first medal in the all-around event in over 108 years, before becoming the first ever British gold medallist in artistic gymnastics with victory in the floor and pommel horse events within 1 hour of each other.
His prodigious form continued into 2017 where further history was made. Max became the first British gymnast to defend a world title, taking pommel gold with a near faultless routine and was awarded an MBE for his services to gymnastics. The following year brought more medals with Commonwealth gold in the team event, along with individual silver which followed in the European Championships and World Championships.
In 2019 Max was to regain his European Title in emphatic style which was followed by Max regaining his Pommel World Championship title in an unforgettable World championships final later that year.
Max successfully defended his Olympic title on the pommel horse at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this made Max the most successful pommel horse athlete ever.
At the Commonwealth Games in 2022, Max was a Batonbearer for the opening ceremony carrying the torch in the name of Mental Health. Max also recently became a pundit for BBC covering major championships.
Max was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year's honours list for his services to gymnastics.
HELEN GLOVER MBE
Helen Glover MBE is a British double Olympic champion, triple World champion and quadruple European champion in rowing.
With Heather Stanning they won Britain’s first-ever Olympic Gold Medal in rowing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Since 2011, Helen is undefeated internationally and holds the World Record in the women’s pairs category. Helen was awarded an MBE in 2013 for her services to rowing.
At the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, Glover’s reign continued with Stanning when they retained their Olympic title. Meticulous planning, science and commitment to leave no stone unturned all played significant importance in Glover’s success.
Remarkably Helen only took up rowing in 2008 when she was identified through the UK’s Sporting Giants recruitment scheme designed to identify and train athletes of a suitable size. She is a gifted sportswoman and competitor and prior to rowing had competed internationally in cross country and trained with the England Hockey Satellite Squad.
Following the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, she married BAFTA winning TV wildlife presenter Steve Backshall and had their first child, Logan and later twins Kit & Willow. In 2017 she entered and won the 125 mile Devizes to Westminster ultra-endurance kayak race. Six days later she ran her first marathon in 3 hours 5 minutes. Later that year she qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Cape Town.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw Helen return to training with an aim of competing again, alongside Polly Swann. The pair won the European Coxless Pairs title in April of 2021.
Incredibly, just 18 months after the birth of her twins, Helen competed at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first British mother to row at an Olympics.
TOM
DEAN MBE
Tom Dean MBE is a double Olympic swimming champion and England's most successful athlete in a single Commonwealth games.
Tom Dean was selected for the British team for the 2018 European Championships, his first senior competition, where he participated in the 200m Individual medley, 400m Individual medley, and won gold as part of the 4x200m freestyle team.
In May 2021, Dean won gold as part of a team in mixed 4 × 100 metre and mixed 4 × 200 metre freestyle, as well as silver in the men's 4 × 100 metre freestyle and 4 × 200 metre freestyle relays at the European Championships. He also won an individual bronze medal in the 200m freestyle.
Despite catching Covid-19 twice in the build up to the games missing almost two months of preparation, his raw talent prevailed. On 27th July 2021, at the 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Dean won the gold medal in the 200m freestyle, with his teammate Duncan Scott winning the silver medal. He then won gold in the men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay together with James Guy, Duncan Scott, and Matt Richards in a time of six minutes 58.58 seconds. Dean became the first male British swimmer to win two gold Olympic medals at the same games in 113 years.
Dean completed a memorable year by being awarded an MBE for his services to swimming.
Dean built upon his success at the Olympics picking up four medals at the World Championships in Hungary at the start of 2022. Before competing at the 2022 Commonwealth games in Birmingham.
The games saw Dean become the most successful home nations athlete in history, with a total of seven medals!
Shortly after his commonwealth success, Tom took on the European championships in Rome picking up another three medals, taking his tally in 2022 to 13 medals in the space of two months.
Tom Dean is aged 22, and certainly one of Team GB’s one’s to watch for Paris 2024 & Beyond!
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix is a British Diver who already has two Commonwealth golds to her name.
Andrea has a total of 17 senior national and international medals including two golds at the most recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham & two golds at the European Games in Rome 2022.
Andrea burst onto the scene as a 13 year old. making her international debut, and just two years later she won her first solo gold at the 2020 FINA Diving Grand Prix.
An incredible 2020 saw Andrea finish with not only her first international title but being recognised as the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.
One of the newest members of the ISM team will be one to look out for at Paris 2024 and in the future.
Jake Wightman
Jake Wightman is a middle-distance runner for Scotland, British Athletics and Team GB. Born in Nottingham, the 28 year old is the son of two former marathon runners, Geoff and Susan Wightman, with his dad Geoff his current coach.
Wightman is the current 1500m World Champion clinching his title in 3:29.23 in Eugene 2022 which was famously commentated on by his Dad. This record breaking title meant Jake was the first Brit to claim a world title in middle distance since Steve Cram in 1983!
Jake was also able to claim medals at both the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games in 2022, making his tally of 5 major medals so far.
The run of success didn’t stop there as he dominated the Diamond League meets winning the 1500m in Morocco, the 1000m in Monaco, setting a new Scottish national record and finally 800m in Brussels, again setting a new National record.
Jake topped off a great year with a deserved BBC Sports Personality of the year nomination.
A hugely exciting talent with plenty yet still to come!
Emily
Campbell
Emily Campbell is a British Olympic Weightlifter who gained huge recognition winning Britain's first ever female weightlifting medal.
Emily competes in the women's super heavyweight category in weightlifting, which means she lifts the heaviest weights among female competitors. She has represented Great Britain in various international competitions, including the Olympics.
Emily made her Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), where she competed in the women's +87 kg category. She won a silver medal in the competition, becoming the first ever British woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal. Her achievement was widely celebrated and marked a significant milestone in British weightlifting history.
Prior to the Olympic silver, Emily had also won several medals in international weightlifting competitions including a Gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games whilst also beating a games record in the snatch portion of the event.
Emily's journey in weightlifting and her success at the Olympics have made her an inspirational figure, especially for aspiring female athletes in the UK.
One of ISM's newest clients with a big year ahead in 2024!