RHYS MCCLENAGHAN MADE history by becoming Ireland’s first-ever gymnastics world champion as he outclassed his rivals to win pommel horse gold at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
McClenaghan shrugged off his Olympic and European Championship disappointments with a superb routine to win Saturday’s final in Liverpool.
His score of 15.300 gave him a wide winning margin over silver medallist Ahmad Abu Al Soud of Jordan (14.866) and Armenia’s Harutyun Merdinyan (14.733), who won bronze.
“It’s a childhood dream come true,” the 23-year-old said as his historic achievement sunk in.
The County Down athlete set the standard in qualifying earlier this week when he posted the joint-highest total alongside reigning world champion Stephen Nedorosick of the United States.
Nedorosick was billed as the biggest threat to McClenaghan’s dream of adding a historic gold to the bronze he won at the 2019 worlds in Stuttgart.
But he had to settle for a disappointing sixth place as McClenaghan, who competed third of the eight finalists, dialled up the pressure on those who followed him.
His difficulty score of 6.400 was the highest in the field, matched only by one other gymnast, and nobody could match his brilliant execution score of 8.900.
Saturday’s glory was a redemptive end to a difficult 14 months for McClenaghan, who was one of Ireland’s leading medal hopes at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer.
But his final routine in Tokyo came unstuck when he lost his balance and fell off the horse, ending his chances of making the podium.
He had to settle for silver when defending his title at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this year, and was left disappointed again at August’s European Championships when he failed to qualify for the final.
It's World Championships gold for Rhys McClenaghan! A brilliant performance. Here's the routine that earned him victory 🥇☘️ https://t.co/LmEOwzqBh8 #RTEsport pic.twitter.com/xaC1cQPzmd
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 5, 2022
“I’m feeling good,” a beaming McClenaghan said as he spoke to RTÉ afterwards. “Just living in this moment, the moment when I became world champion, and I couldn’t be happier right now.
“It’s a childhood dream come true. It’s something that I’ve been working towards for so many years, and I’m so glad that it paid off today.
“Even this year, I know it’s been a difficult year — not making the European final, messing up at the Commonwealth Games, there’s been so many mistakes — but I made sure I learned from it.
“It almost felt like this sport was kicking me when I was down, but I made sure that I got up every time, and I certainly got up today at the World Championships.”
“Today the plan came together with precision,” his coach Luke Carson said.
“I have known Rhys could be a World Champion since 2014. Today was that day.”
