THERE were lots of very tired but very happy faces at Basildon’s Sporting Village yesterday as the South Essex Gymnastics Club celebrated Max Whitlock’s two Olympic gold medals.

Max, who trains at the gym in Cranes Farm Road, took the gold medal on the floor and later on the pommel horse, just two days after winning a bronze in the all-round event in Rio.

Although it was business as normal at the club, which continued to train its budding gymnasts and run its holiday clubs, smiles were plastered over the faces of everyone in the gym, from the smallest beginners to the elite athletes.

The biggest smile was on the face of Max’s fiancee, Leah Hickton, 24, who cannot wait for him to return home to celebrate.

She said: “I’m absolutely over the moon, I’m so happy for him.

“He trains for up to 36 hours per week and puts his whole life into it and to achieve something like this makes it all worthwhile.”

Miss Hickton, who got engaged to Max in June, added: “The Olympics have been a long time coming so I feel like I haven’t seen him for a long time. It’s nice it has finished on a high!

“My sister and I will be picking him up from the airport, I think I will burst into tears.”

There is currently an 18-month to two-year waiting list for people wanting to join the club and Matt Jackson, 35, assistant director of gymnastic coaching and head men’s gymnastic coach, expects this to only get bigger following Max’s success.

He said: “After the 2012 Olympics the phone didn’t stop ringing; today there have already been 74 email enquiries.

“There’s a long waiting list and it’s only going to get bigger.”

As well as doing his country proud, Max, who lives with Miss Hickton in Basildon, has inspired the next generation of great gymnasts.

Mr Jackson added: “The wonderful thing about Max is that he will come back in and be no different; you can just see how humble he is and so down to earth.

“He will always go and help the others.”

Douglas Turnbull, 14, and Hayden Skinner, 16, train alongside Max nearly every day and watched him clinch victory on Sunday night.

Douglas said: “You see him working so hard every day, really putting the hours in and I think he got what he deserves.”

Hayden added: “It’s crazy to know one of your close friends is an Olympic champion. We were all going crazy watching it

“We all want to go to the Olympics and reach that dream of getting a gold medal; to see Max achieve that is amazing, it shows it is achievable.”