Who Is Rhys McClenaghan? Irish Gymnast to Rob USA of Gold in Paris Olympics

Rhys McClenaghan has done the impossible. After the heroics of Stephen Nedoroscik helped Team USA win an Olympic medal after 15 years, the 25-year-old was looking on course to bring the USA another gold medal. Unfortunately, that might not happen as the Irish gymnast, McClenaghan can potentially derail the chances of Nedoroscik winning the gold. 

Competing in the men’s Pommel Horse finals, Nedoroscik scored 15.300 on his first attempt. While this might seem to be quite a good score, actually, it was the third best. Perched at the second position, N.Kurbanov from Kazakhstan garnered 15.433, while McClenaghan is sitting pretty atop with a whopping 15.533. This was quite a shocker for the US as nobody expected Rhys McClenaghan to win the Pommel Horse gold. 

Well, while this might be a heartbreak for the US audience, McClenaghan’s rise to the pinnacle should not come as a surprise. Representing Ireland, McClenaghan is the only Irish to have qualified for back-to-back Olympic final routines. Although McClenaghan missed out on a podium finish in Tokyo, his golden glory in 2024 will surely be cherished by him and his near and dear ones thoroughly. Well, the signs were there right from the beginning. Competing last week, McClenaghan ended up with a score of 15.200 on the Pommel Horse, securing first place in subdivision 3. 

Today’s Olympic gold medal will be an aesthetic addition to McClenaghan’s already ornamented medals tally. During the course of his career, the Irish artistic gymnast has won 11 medals in total. Interestingly, only 3 among them are silver and bronze. The other 8 are gold medals, which goes on to shine light on the credibility of Rhys McClenaghan. Apart from the recently won Olympic gold, McClenaghan has won 2 world championships, 3 European championships, 1 Commonwealth title, and a North European Championship. And these victories did not come overnight. Rhys McClenaghan has an iron-clad mental toughness and his childhood coach bears testament to the same. 

Rhys McClenaghan’s coach reflects on the Irishman’s mentality 

Coaching McClenaghan since he was five years old, David Martinelli describes his mentality as, “undeniable.” Martinelli further stated that every gymnast competing at the highest level has to be obsessed with the sport. If anyone is not ready to give his 100%, then attaining success might be difficult. And this is what sets McClenaghan apart. Narrating how they see off their grueling training days, Martinelli said, “We see the good days and the bad days but every time we see him do a routine, he’s always locked in and ready to go, there is never a flicker of doubt.”

Ahead of his big final in Paris, Martinelli stated that McClenaghan will be fueled by the 17 years of hard work that he has put in relentlessly. Moreover, remembering his Tokyo debacle, McClenaghan would like to reignite the fire within himself to set the records straight. Surely, he did everything that his coach said he would do. And after his golden performance in Paris, the road ahead for Rhys McClenaghan only seems brighter.