Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan reveals anxious wait before 'crazy realisation'

A stunning display in the men's pommel horse final by the Team Ireland gymnast resulted in a place on top of the podium - and on top of the sporting world.

However, it required a massive 15.533 score from McClenaghan to get over the line - with the 25-year-old lining out fourth in the draw but chasing down the impressive 15.433 from Kazakhstan's Nariman Kurbanov in the opening display.

When asked if McClenaghan realised his routine was going to be good enough to beat Kurbanov - and those still to step up on the final stage - he was quoted on BBC Sport NI as confirming: "No absolutely not.

"When we went 0.1 above that was the crazy realisation that this might be the day I become Olympic champion."

Ultimately, the years of sweat and sacrifice, often away from the public glare around his Northern Ireland home, came down to minutes on the world's biggest sporting stage in France.

Once confirmed, however, McClenaghan was able to put the achievement into context as Olympic gold joined his World, European and Commonwealth Games honours and helped to avoid any sense of "that empty gap" despite McClenaghan's awareness "I still would have walked away as Ireland’s most successful ever gymnast and one of the sport’s best".

He added on BBC Northern Ireland's Good Morning Ulster: "This whole Olympic Games cycle was a redemption, the back-to-back World and European titles and then rounding it off with the Olympic title.

"That was the redemption era for Rhys McClenaghan there. I’m so glad it was completed."

And took time to look back on the journey to weekend wonder as achieving that long-held Olympic Games champion dream.

"I’ve been saying that since I was probably around 15 or 16," he said. "To be saying it back then to a lot of people maybe came across as arrogant, or too confident, like ‘what gives this guy the right to say that?’.

"Now everyone is realising why I said that.”