Latest news with #McClenaghan
Irish Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Olympic heroes donate legacy grants to their schools in classy gesture
Three of Ireland's Olympic heroes have donated their legacy grants to the schools and clubs that set them on the path to sporting glory. Sport Northern Ireland has given £100,000 (€119,000) to be shared between six athletes from the north, three of whom, Daniel Wiffen, Rhys McClenaghan and Phillip Doyle, represented Ireland at last summer's Paris Olympics. Wiffen donated his legacy grant of £25,000 (€29,700) for winning gold in the 800m freestyle and bronze in the 1500m freestyle to his former school, St Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh, and the building of a new gym. The swimmer said: 'Proud to donate my full £25,000 Olympic Legacy fund to @stpatsarmagh – the school that believed in me from the start,' Wiffen wrote on social media. 'The new gym will support the next generation of Armagh athletes. Legacy isn't just about medals – it's about giving back.' McClenaghan, who won gold on the pommel horse in Paris, donated his full cheque, worth £20,000 (€23,744) to Origin Gymnastics club in his hometown of Newtownards, Co. Down. 'I feel like this grant gave me the responsibility to leave a legacy after my Olympic win,' McClenaghan said. 'I couldn't think of a better way to leave a legacy than to donate the money to the fastest-growing gymnastics club in the country, Origin Gymnastics. 'This will hopefully allow young gymnasts to follow in my foot steps and give them opportunities and equipment that I didn't have growing up in this sport. Origin offers a sense of community in my hometown of Newtownards and gives everybody in the local area a true love for the sport of gymnastics.' Philip Doyle, who won a bronze for Ireland in the double sculls alongside Clonmel's Daire Lynch, donated his £5,000 to Belfast Boat Club. Speaking to RTE, the principal of St Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh, where Wiffen to school, told that the swimming hero was "very, very supportive of the school" Dominic Clarke said: "Daniel came in with his Commonwealth silver medal when he won it, his first probably major international medal," he said. "And then with his Olympic medals, he came into the school and spent hours and hours with the school community so everybody knows them." Clarke added that the school has a particularly rich history of sporting talent, which was on full show in the space of a few days last summer. "That was a glorious weekend that during which Armagh won the All Ireland and we had seven past pupils on that squad, so that was a big high and that was the Sunday and then on the Monday, Daniel went out and won the 800 metres gold medal. "Then another past pupil, Connor McKenna, who had already won an All Ireland with Tyrone a number of years ago, won the Australian AFL Championship with Brisbane. "It was a very, very, very good couple of months for the school".
Irish Daily Mirror
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Olympic gold not enough for Irish star who outlines huge ambition
Olympic gold medalist Rhys McClenaghan says he wants to become the GOAT at pommel horse. The Irish gymnast achieved a lifelong dream last summer when he won gold in Paris - three years after his heartache at Tokyo, where one tiny slip cost him dearly. But he isn't about to settle back just yet and enjoy the spoils of a career that has brought him two world titles and three European crowns, as well as his Olympic success. McClenaghan wants to become the greatest of all time - and that means winning more World Championships than anyone in the history of the sport. Asked if he wanted to become the GOAT, he said, speaking to the first issue of the Red Bull Ireland Newsletter: 'Well, that is definitely a goal of mine. It'd be awesome when you think about it. 'Nobody's ever won four world titles on pommel horse. There have been about five or six gymnasts who have got three, so that's a really interesting statistic. 'I've got two world titles on pommel at the minute, so I need to get the third and then that'll put me into the position of being the greatest of all time, which is an exciting thought. 'But at the same time, while that goal is really exciting, it's also important to be really satisfied with what I have done. 'Nobody else has ever won every single title available, winning a Commonwealth, European, Worlds and Olympics. 'And that's something that I will sit back and think about, like, 'That is incredible that I've done that'.' McClenaghan (25) hopes that he can continue the improvements he has shown in his career so far. 'It definitely didn't happen overnight. I've been one of the most consistent gymnasts on pommel horse,' he said. 'My trajectory and my gymnastics career have been very linear, I've hit all of the stages on the way. It's not like I just won my second competition ever at the Olympics. 'It's been European Championships, World golds and then Olympic golds. Now it's about maintaining that because I've won every title there is to win.' It won't be easy, he acknowledged, given the tweaks to the rules that are made to help keep gymnasts on their toes. 'This is a really interesting time for all gymnasts really, because through each Olympic cycle, every four years, the rules change ever so slightly,' said McClenaghan. 'This is done to keep up with the evolution of gymnastics, to make the routines more appealing for fans to watch and make it more exciting and difficult for the gymnasts as well. 'The structure of the rules has changed ever so slightly. For instance, the amount of skills in a routine used to be 10 and now it's dropped to eight to encourage more difficult skills being put out there and increase the risk, which also makes that execution score a little bit more valuable as well so ultimately it'll bring the competition a lot closer than it already is. 'That's forced me to adjust my routine, so it's definitely not going to be the same routine that I have been doing for the last couple of years. 'It's a brand-new routine for floor and pommel horse. This year is an adjustment phase for all gymnasts. 'Obviously, everything's leading to the next gold medal, but there are also other goals there as well, like getting back to competing, getting these new routines out, new skills out. 'It's going to be a year of kind of learning and adjusting.'
RTÉ News
06-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Injury rules Rhys McClenaghan out European Championships gold medal defence
Olympic pommel horse gold medallist Rhys McClenaghan has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming European Championships in Leipzig because of an unspecified injury. As a result the 25-year-old will not be able to complete a hat-trick of European titles to go with the gold medals won in Paris last summer and at the previous two World Championships. McClenaghan opted to take a break from the sport following his Olympics success, though he was not fully out of the public gaze and took part in RTÉ's Dancing with the Stars, where he was crowned the eventual winner at the end of the 12-week show. It is understood the injury is not too serious and McClenaghan will now focus on the defence of his world title, with those championships taking place in Indonesia in October. Outlining the current situation, the Newtownards native posted on Instagram: "I tried my best to push through preparation but an injury kept holding me back. "I chose to prioritise being healthy and recovering for future competitions this year and be sure that I can put out my best work yet.
Irish Daily Mirror
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Olympic hero Rhys McClenaghan pulls out of European Championships
Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan has withdrawn from the upcoming European Championships in Leipzig due to injury. The 25-year-old would have been aiming for his third successive European gold medal. The Newtownards native did not specify the nature of the injury but posted on Instagram: "I tried my best to push through preparation, but an injury kept holding me back. "I chose to prioritise being healthy and recovering for future competitions this year, and to be sure that I can put out my best work yet. "I may not be retaining my European title, but the path to being the GOAT is still very clear." McClenaghan took time away from the sport following his sensational victory at the Paris Olympics last summer. His break included a stint on RTÉ's Dancing with the Stars, which he won alongside his dance partner. Although he will miss the opportunity to defend his European crown, McClenaghan is expected to return to competitive action at the World Championships in Indonesia in October. Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
BBC News
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Rhys McClenaghan gets home boost ahead of TV dance final
Olympic gold medal gymnast Rhys McClenaghan "saw a challenge and accepted it" when he decided to swap the pommel horse for the Paso Doble by participating in Irish broadcaster RTÉ's Dancing with the Sunday, all of his hard work will come to end when McClenaghan and his partner Laura Nolan dance in the final of the of it, the 25-year-old from County Down has returned to his home gym where he was greeted by dozens of young, aspiring said it was "always nice" to return to his hometown of Newtownards "and just to see the support from everybody, to see everyone who has watched the show, who has been voting every week". Last summer, McClenaghan won an Olympic gold on the pommel horse in said this latest challenge has been entirely different."It's been long days, I think the biggest challenge for me is balancing the gymnastics training," he told BBC News NI. 'Not very sustainable' He said he had been dancing for six or seven hours a day, before training for four or five hours in the evening."It's not very sustainable," he explained."I'm glad the competition's coming to an end but I'm also glad that I've had the experience."Rhys said his many years of experience in gymnastics has served him well on the show."My discipline and motivation that I've really learned from gymnastics has certainly crossed over to the dancing," he said."It has pushed me through some tough days, it's made me enjoy the performance of it all as well and at the same time some new challenges have hit me in the face as well."But that's the reason I did the show, I saw a challenge and I accepted it." 'Incredible and inspiring' Rhys was joined by his dancing partner Laura at his home gym in Newtownards and she described him as a "dream student"."He really has, from start to finish, thrown himself into it and believed and trusted in everything," she said it was incredible the level the gymnast has reached. "Not only the level of tricks and lifts, which we knew he could do but the level of dance he has created has just been unbelievable."I don't think I'll ever have another partner like him. "He's so incredible and inspiring." Rhys said he had not been sure if he would reach the final, but said the fact he has made it this far and people continue to watch and support him is "a job well done"."It's very different to a gymnastics competition where it really comes down to your performance and the score that you get," he said."This is a public vote – it's half the vote each week and even coming down to the final it's only the public vote."So it's very a different kind of competition."But the support has been great and I mean – today there were kids coming in as Spiderman because it was a dream of mine as a kid to be Spiderman, so to be able to perform it live on TV in the form of a dance was a special feeling." 'Out of my comfort zone' All four couples participating in Sunday's final will complete two and Laura confirmed they would be bringing back the Spiderman themed dance from movie week where they were awarded 10 points from each of the judges. They will also perform a freestyle said bringing the winning "glitterball" trophy home would be a "really nice representation for gymnastics" and for people in his hometown."I was definitely out of my comfort zone this entire show and just accepting that you're a part of doing something special, it's a good message to have." Mum wants the main prize Tracy McClenaghan, Rhys's mum, said she did not think she could be any prouder of her son."We're really excited, it's something completely different for us."We are used to sports events to cheer on a gymnast and now all of a sudden we're at dance events. "I don't even know how this happened."Tracy admitted that when Rhys started the competition she did not think he would reach the final but now she believes he can said she would "love to have the glitterball back in Newtownards"."I had no clue he could even dance. "He said to me a few months ago 'I'm going to do Dancing with the Stars' and I looked at him and said 'can you dance?' and he said: 'I don't know, I'm sure I'll pick it up'."That's Rhys' typical attitude really, he just loves a challenge." Suzie Allen's daughters Summer and Savannah attend gymnastics classes at Rhys' home gym. She said both Rhys and Laura are brilliant role models."The girls go to Origin gymnastics, but they also dance, so they love what he's doing, they'll hopefully be able to do [so] one day as well and be as fit as him."
