‘It feels like a dream’ - Rhys McClenaghan's reaction to Olympic gold and special message for 'everybody at home'
Rhys McClenaghan described Olympic Games gold in Paris as “like a dream” following his memorable men’s pommel horse final triumph.
A winning score of 15.533 left the Newtownards gymnast top of the podium for a fourth gold won by an athlete from Northern Ireland over the past five days – bringing the country’s tally to a remarkable six overall.
The 25-year-old takes his place in the history books as the first Team Ireland gymnast to win any Olympic Games medal.
“It feels like a dream, it’s a dream well-earned and I just can’t believe it’s happened,” he said. “It always felt like it was going to happen but I wasn’t sure when.
“Listen, everybody at home see this as an example of find a dream that you love, chase it and enjoy that journey because I can tell you if I fell off that Pommel today I still would have loved this journey, every single second of it but I didn’t and today I’m walking away with an Olympic gold medal.
“After the routine I was happy – I wasn’t thinking about medals.
"When the score came up I was proud of that score because it was mine and I wasn’t thinking of the podium at all I was just thinking I’ve done my job and I feel like that’s where the main emotions came from today.
“I knew that this would also be the toughest Pommel Horse final of all time, and it was so to come out on top is incredible.”
It adds to a string of success under the guidance of coach Luke Carson.
In an interview with BBC Sport, McClenaghan highlighted the importance of his history with Carson.
"We set a long-term plan at the age of 14, my coach met with my mum and said 'this kid could be the best in the world on the pommel horse',” he said in the television broadcast. "That plan developed and came to fruition today.
"I start to look around the arena when I finish competing and when I was looking around that arena after I'd finished my pommel routine and scored a Personal Best score the emotions were through the roof.
"I was incredibly proud.”
He added: "There's always room for improvement...I want to go back in the gym right now and work on the improvements but my coach won't let me probably.
"But that's okay, I think he's right in this situation, we need to celebrate our Olympic title."
With Daniel Wiffen, Jack McMillan and Hannah Scott having already picked up top prizes in Paris over the past week – to add to our country’s list of past champions in Lady Mary Peters (1972), Stephen Martin (1988) and Jimmy Kirkwood (1988) – now it is the turn of McClenaghan to join the elite roll of honour.
McClenaghan’s triumph marks a seventh gold medal in Northern Ireland summer Olympic Games history, fourth of the week and sixth Paris prize overall following Wiffen (Team Ireland), McMillan (Team GB), Scott (Team GB), Rebecca Shorten (Team GB, silver) and Philip Doyle (Team Ireland, bronze).