Rhys McClenaghan vows to reclaim spot as ‘best in the world' after surgery
Olympic pommel horse champion Rhys McClenaghan has promised to reclaim his spot as 'the best in the world' after going under the knife.
The County Down native has not competed since striking gold in Paris last year, with a shoulder problem hampering his progress.
The injury forced him to miss May's European Championships in Germany and is likely to rule the 25 year-old out of October's World Championships in Indonesia.
Newtownards gymnast Rhys McClenaghan
News in 90 Seconds - July 26th
McClenaghan will be determined to return in time for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he hopes to represented Northern Ireland for a third time.
The Irish Olympian said: 'I've been struggling with this injury for a while now, so I'm delighted that everything went to plan with the operation and I can make my way back to maintaining my spot as the best in the world at what I do.
"This is the reality of sport, and I love all of the challenges it throws my way. Champion Mindset."
Following his success at last year's Olympic Games in Paris, McClenaghan won RTÉ's Dancing with the Stars.
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Sunday World
9 minutes ago
- Sunday World
Irish athletics golden girl Kate O'Connor poses for selfie with loved up footballer Georgie
The pair who have each been celebrating significant wins in their respective fields are pictured together in the snap Ireland's gold-medal winning athlete Kate O'Connor has shared an adorable picture of her with loved-up boyfriend Irish striker Georgie Kelly together on holidays in Portugal. The pair who have each been celebrating significant wins in their respective fields are pictured in the snap that Kate captioned: 'A few days of R&R & celebrating the Harkins'. Kate poses for the selfie in yellow dress while Georgie grins in the background. She is on a well-deserved break after a series of stunning victories. Just last Thursday, the 24-year-old added a gold to her glittering CV at the World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. Kate and Georgie on holidays News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29 Dominating the heptathlon to smash her Irish record with 6487 points, she declared: 'I've been going for that (record) for a long time. 'I'm in the shape of my life at the moment and to go out and do that here, at a world stage, I'm really happy with that.' It had already been a massive year for O'Connor, a master's student in communication and PR at Ulster University, who twice smashed the Irish pentathlon record indoors. She won bronze at the European Indoors in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands before winning World Indoor silver in Nanjing, China – the first ever medals Ireland had won in the multi-events at that level. She had previously won heptathlon silver at the European U-20 Championships and at the 2022 Commonwealth Games for Northern Ireland. 'Now I've finally got a gold,' she said. 'It's a great way to start my outdoor season. I'd quite a few highs there but also quite a few lows, so I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks, trying to improve some things and really have them right going into [the World Championships in] Tokyo.' For Carlisle United's Irish striker Georgie, he has come through what Mark Hughes described as a 'torrid' time with injury to deliver a recent win that gives the club some hope in their relegation battle. In March, after girlfriend Kate took home a bronze medal from the pentathlon at the European Indoor Championships in the Netherlands, he hailed her as a 'killer'. 'She's well versed in dealing with different pressures to me. We are different, Kate is ruthless, a real competitor, win at all costs,' Kelly told the Irish Independent at the time. 'Her ability to produce under pressure last weekend, that was unreal, the pressure she was under, seeing girls perform well just before her and knowing she has to hit a certain mark or she's gone, that's the bit of my sports psyche that I'd lack. 'She's a killer and I admire so much about what she does – I probably don't tell her enough.' He's spent his teenage and adult years focused on a football career in Ireland with UCD, Derry City, Dundalk, St Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians and then cross-channel with Rotherham United and current side Carlisle. But it's his time spent with Kate that has opened Kelly's eyes to the levels needed and achievements made. 'That was the first ever medal for an Irish athlete, male or female, in a multi-event. She was the first Irish Olympian in the heptathlon so it's all new, her and her coaches are figuring it out as they go along. So to get to that level is just incredible,' he says. 'Even the fact that the pentathlon is indoor and the heptathlon is outdoor, she's always been a much better heptathlete because of the javelin, she has a monster jav, that's where she gets her points. It's some leap she's made even in six months and it's so exciting to think what we can do, there is no ceiling for Kate.' However, as Kelly is in Carlisle and O'Connor is based in Ireland, he revealed how finding time together is not easy. 'Kate's off to China for the World Championships next week, then her indoor season finishes and she might get some time off. Hopefully she will get over to me in England for a bit, before she ramps up again for the outdoor season which peaks in August. 'She can't just up and move to a base elsewhere, that's the hardest thing about being away on your own. It's only for a few years, we'll get there, we'll make it work. 'It's not like I work in an accountancy firm that's nine-to-five and I know she has weekends off, if I had a day or two off, there's no guarantee she will be off so it's a tough balance. It's not easy.'
The 42
33 minutes ago
- The 42
'My dream would be to go back at some point and play for Ulster'
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Boal hopes to get a deal over the line with a Championship club in England before their season starts in October, but Brisbane is a beautiful place for him to be kicking on with life after Ulster. He has been impressing Down Under in recent weeks, catching the eye with his dynamic performances in the front row. Sitting outside a nice neighbourhood café in the suburb of St Lucia, where he's based, Boal said it's the perfect spot to move on from the disappointment of leaving Ulster. 'It was tough,' said Boal. 'I think I struggled more after the fact. A few weeks had gone by and you're still in the building, we had Ulster A games to prep for, and I was still training with the seniors. 'I was trying to wrap my head around it and even thinking, 'If I go really well here, I might change their decision.' Even now, leaving group chats and whatever, that sort of aspect of it is tough.' Boal has started to look ahead with excitement, though. 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Boal joined Belfast Harlequins after school and had to prove himself during two seasons with the Ulster sub-academy before he got a full academy deal in 2023. The sub-academy was a real 'grind,' explained Boal, who can also play tighthead. Gym sessions early in the morning meant long days, but he loved proving himself. He credits 'class act' Doak with showing him a professional approach to things like analysis, while Boal says that the Ulster academy coach and current Ireland U20s boss' straight-to-the-point communication helped get the best out of him. The All-Ireland League was an ideal place for a young loosehead to learn, with ex-Ulster prop Paddy McAllister another positive influence on Boal in Belfast Harlequins. 'Even just the amount of reset challenges that you can have as a prop, because even at pro level, boys get turned over, they get flipped. 'Paddy would just be like, 'Next job, you know what to do and just believe in what you've been doing before.' I think I progressed quite well. Jack Boal training with the Ireland U19s. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO 'I think I got milled a few times in those first few games but no, it was really good.' Boal played for the Ireland U19s in 2022, winning two caps against France and impressing a few people he reckons might not have seen him as much of a prospect before that. Frustratingly, he suffered a hamstring injury at the end of that season and was playing catch-up when it came to the Ireland U20s in 2023. He was part of Richie Murphy's group, but Paddy McCarthy and George Hadden established themselves as the two looseheads. 'I was worried after not playing 20s that I wouldn't then be contracted because that's normally the benchmark,' said Boal, but he was thrilled that Doak, Gavin Hogg, and Willie Faloon in the Ulster academy saw enough in him to give him a deal. Boal had two seasons with Ulster and loved being part of the environment. He got close to a senior appearance a couple of times when he was 24th man, including for the clash with Leinster back in April. Warwick hurt his neck in the warm-up and head coach Murphy asked Boal to get ready because he might be on the bench. He told the young prop that the Ulster coaches believed in him and to give it a crack. In the end, Warwick played but was forced off with his injury just before half time. Ultimately, the Ulster set-up decided not to keep Boal on board beyond the end of the season. 'That's the way it is in pro sports sometimes,' said Boal. 'Richie's got a certain view of what he wants to do and it's a rebuild in Ulster at the minute, so that's fine. 'It's pro sports and you have to respect the decision, really.' He certainly didn't expect to end up in Australia so soon after exiting Ulster but it has been hugely enjoyable on and off the pitch. Boal in Queen's University colours. 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The Irish Sun
39 minutes ago
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Inside Anthony Joshua's wild Mykonos getaway, from quad biking to rapping and being swarmed by fans
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