14-05-2025
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.'
