Max is a five-time Olympic medallist, double Olympic Gold medallist, World Champion, three-time European Champion and three-time Commonwealth Champion.
Max first came to prominence at the 2010 Junior European Championships in Birmingham, where he placed second in the All-around event, and took Gold in the Floor and Pommel Horse.
By 2012 he was part of the squad that won Team Gold at the European Championships. And in the London Olympics that summer, he helped the team capture Bronze – the first time since 1912 that the men’s team had won an Olympic medal. Max rounded off the event with individual Bronze in the Pommel Horse.
He won Gold in the Floor event at the European Championships the following year, and 2014 saw Max add to his growing collection of Gold Medals, with victory on the Pommel Horse at the European Championships in Sofia. Plus another three Golds in the Commonwealth Games – in the Team event, All-around and Floor.
2015 saw Max become the first British Male to win a World Championship title, winning a Gold medal on the Pommel Horse.
The Olympic year of 2016 got off to a flying start with Gold at the World Cup in Glasgow. Then in April, Max won a clutch of medals at the British Championships, including All-around, Floor, Pommel Horse and High Bar Gold. Then it was off to Rio, where he was to make Olympic history.
By winning the All-around Bronze, Max gave Britain its first medal in this event for 108 years. His Gold in the Individual Floor made him the first ever British gymnast to win an Olympic title, and two hours later he added a second Gold Medal – in the Individual Pommel Horse.
In 2017, he was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to gymnastics. He trains and lives in Essex, close to Anglia Ruskin’s Chelmsford campus.
Professor Martin said: “Max’s dedication and success have helped raise the profile of gymnastics with young people throughout the UK. Max’s achievements, his work ethic, his ability to overcome challenges, and his constant striving for excellence, all resonate with the values our University holds dear.
“He will be an inspirational role model for all our students, particularly those in Anglia Ruskin’s emerging Sport and Exercise Science area.”