RHYS MCCLENAGHAN IS all but certain to take his place in Monday’s individual pommel horse final at the Commonwealth Games and defend the gold medal he won in Australia four years ago.
McClenaghan’s score of 14.350 on Friday morning was comfortably the best with two of the three qualification subdivisions completed.
Joseph Cemlyn-Jones of Wales posted the next best individual score of 12.750.
The final qualification subdivision gets underway in Birmingham at 5.30pm.
McClenaghan won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in thrilling circumstances when he beat England’s Max Whitlock — then the reigning Olympic champion — by virtue of his higher execution score after both athletes finished level in the final.
The County Down gymnast backed up that performance by winning the European Championships later that year and then a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships before going on to finish seventh at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
