British gymnast Max Whitlock has expressed his joy that the sport is "finally" getting the "recognition that it deserves".

The 22-year-old, who has 18 international medals to his name, will try to become the first Brit to win gymnastics gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

"I like that gymnastics is finally getting the recognition it deserves," the Daily Star quotes Whitlock as saying. "For a lot of years it was seen as a women's sport and boys got bullied at school for competing but that's no longer the case.

"It is such a tough sport and I think our success and TV shows like Tumble have helped to show how difficult it is and how strong and fit you have to be."

Whitlock has three European gold medals and as many Commonwealth golds, as well as two Olympic bronzes.