Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan made history once again yesterday by becoming the first Irish gymnast to win a senior European title scoring a new personal best of 15.300.
It was Ireland’s fourth medal at the multi-sport European Championship, the first gold to add to silver for the O’Donovan Brothers in Rowing and Bronze for Thomas Barr in Athletics and Shane Ryan in swimming.
All the medals were covered on RTÉ and across the European Union public service broadcasters with coverage delivered by the European Broadcasting Union.
Already a junior European medalist, World Cup and 2018 Commonwealth Pommel-Horse Champion McClenaghan broke his personal best at exactly the right time to land the Gold medal beating double Olympic Champion Max Whitlock along the way.
McClenaghan is now a serious contender for an Olympic medal in Tokyo in two years time and will raise higher still the profile of Gymnastics in Ireland.
“History was made today by Rhys for Ireland and Gymnastics Ireland,” said the governing Bodies CEO Ciaran Gallagher in Glasgow.
“He is our first senior European gymnastics champion. It really is a spectacular achievement and will only serve as inspiration for the next generation of gymnasts and gymnastics fans at home in Ireland.”
Is this the routine that sees @mcclenaghanRhys win Ireland’s first European Gymnastics medal? #Glasgow2018 #Rtesport pic.twitter.com/9EIrqgnDYg
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 12, 2018
“It sets Rhys up well for the upcoming World Championships in October. On behalf of all at Gymnastics Ireland my congratulations to Rhys and his coach Luke Carson, his family and our Performance & Technical Manager Sally Johnson.”
“I would like to congratulate the Irish team on a fantastic performance at the European Championships in Berlin and Glasgow,” said Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in a statement last night.
“Following on from our Women’s Hockey team’s success at the Hockey World Cup in London it has been an absolutely brilliant week for Irish sport.”
“These have been magnificent Championships for Team Ireland with many excellent results and lots of encouraging performances which all bodes well for the future,” added Minister of State for Sport and Tourism Brendan Griffin.
“It is great to see so many athletes who are based at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus in Abbotstown performing so well during the Championships and reaping the benefits of the world-class facilities and supports available to them in their preparations for these Championships.”
“I look forward to many more athletes benefiting from the magnificent facilities and supports at the Campus in the future.”
Sign up today for our free daily news digest covering the commercial world of sport or discover the benefits of becoming a full member alongside the many leading organisations whom we serve.
