Caught between the blessing and the curse of being last man on the pommel horse in the World Championship final, Rhys McClenaghan held his cool nerve and biting ambition to win another magnificent gold medal at the Antwerp Sportpaleis on Saturday afternoon.
Defending champion from Liverpool this time last year, McClenaghan, rounding up the eight-man contest, knew exactly what was required to win or indeed lose a medal – and he delivered another flawless routine, his score of 15.100 well clear of Khoi Young from the USA, 20-year-old student at Stanford University winning silver with 14.966.
The victory also secures McClenaghan his Paris Olympic qualification, those Games now just under 10 months away, everything about this performance underlining a new level of consistency in the difficulty and execution of his routine. He certainly impressed both fronts here too, scoring 6.400 for difficulty, with a superb 8.700 for execution.
Now his seventh medal in all on the major championship stage, the 24-year-old from Newtownards had been beaten in his last competition last month by Britain’s Max Whitlock, at the World Cup in Paris, the 30-year-old Whitlock looking poised to add another gold medal here to his already vast collection.
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However, up second of the finalist, Whitlock lost control of his routine after 38 seconds, just before the end, ending up on his feet, and this limiting his score to 14.300.
Young was up third, his 14.966 (a difficulty score of 6.500, and 8.466 for execution) leaving him in the gold medal position until McClenaghan stepped up to defend his title in style.
When asked how it felt to defend his world title, he said: “It feels great, it feels shocking hearing it, similar to the first time I got the world title last year, I can’t believe you’re saying those words!
“It’s all of our jobs here in Antwerp to make gymnastics look easy and it certainly is not. I am most happy about qualifying to the Olympic Games for the second time, it’s a weight off my shoulders.”
After winning World Championship gold in Liverpool last year, becoming Ireland’s first ever global gold medal winner in the sport, McClenaghan added another European title in Turkey last April; his medal tally now includes two World Championship gold and one bronze, two European gold, plus Commonwealth Games gold and silver.
Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who last year won a first medal for Jordan, claimed bronze this time with his score of 14.633, with Harutyun Merdinyan, the veteran from Armenia now aged 39 and who bronze last year, fourth with his score of 14.600.
Whitlock still ended up fifth best, this being his first major championship since winning a third Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021.
At last Sunday’s qualifying rounds, McClenaghan finished on the third best score of 14.933, Whitlock coming out on top with his score of 15.266; only there was no denying the Irish star another gold here, McClenaghan as dazzling as ever in the speed of handwork across the horse, wrapped up in the perfect dismount.
Whitlock wasn’t in Liverpool last November when McClenaghan became the first Irish gymnast to win that global gold medal, also won after a perfectly executed routine loaded with difficultly, scoring 15.300.
In the previous final, Simone Biles extended her all-time World Championship medal winning tally with a silver medal in the vault, Tokyo Olympic champion Rebeca Andrade from Brazil claiming a second World title in three years.
After winning a sixth World all-around title on Friday evening. Biles now boasts and incredible 35 World and Olympic medals, more than any gymnast in the history of the sport – the first of those also won her in Antwerp 10 years ago.
Like Biles, McClenaghan now switches his focus towards Paris, and winning the one last honour he hasn’t already won for Irish gymnastics.
