Rhys McClenaghan: Olympian & World Champion Gymnast

Tri Talking Sport

Irish Olympian and World Champion Gymnast Rhys McClenaghan has been blazing a trail in gymnastics since first taking up the sport as a young boy, and despite the lure of swimming and football, he knew from an early age that gymnastics was the sport that would capture his heart and his mind.

He has had huge success in the sport and his star continues to rise as he performs intricate, technical and fast paced routines on the pommel horse. With a trophy cabinet bursting at the seams he was Ireland's first gymnast to win medals at European and World level and to reach an Olympic final.

Some of his key achievements include; becoming World Champion on the pommel horse and winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games last year. In 2021 he competed in his first Olympic Games in Tokyo finishing seventh in the final. Prior to that Rhys has won bronze in the World Championships in Germany and won Gold at the World Cup in Slovenia in 2019. In 2018 he became European Champion and Commonwealth Champion. In 2016 as a junior gymnast he won the first European Championship medal in history for Ireland, taking silver on the pommel horse at the Junior European Gymnastics Championship.

Based in Dublin, Rhys along with his coach Luke Carson, have one golden goal in mind over the coming months, that is winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At 24 years old Rhys is determined, committed and dedicated to his craft, his love of gymnastics and passion for success driving him to strive every single day to be the best gymnast he can possibly be.