Rhys McClenaghan

Gymnast Rhys McClenaghan is an Olympic and two-time world Champion in the Pommel Horse. The 25-year-old has rapidly risen to prominence as the World’s best pommel horse practitioner. He is also a three-time European gold medallist and a Commonwealth Games winner, bringing his medal tally to nine at major championships.

He made history at the Tokyo 2020 Games when he became the first Irish gymnast to make an Olympic final but had to deal with the crushing disappointment of falling off the pommel horse during his routine.  In 2024, at the Paris Olympic Games he made history by producing the best performance of his life and becoming Olympic Champion. In 2023, Rhys was awarded the prestigious RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year, a testament to his exceptional talent and achievement.

 Rhys is a full-time athlete training at Origin Gymnastics Centre in his hometown of Newtownards, where Luke Carson coaches him. In recent years, he has spoken openly about the mental challenges of elite sport and advocates for minding the mind as much as the body.