Meg Ryan from Douglas in Cork is to become Ireland’s second-ever female Gymnast to represent the country at the Olympic Games.
It was confirmed on Friday by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) that Ryan has secured her place to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
She will join European Gold World Bronze medallist, Rhys McClenaghan, when they depart as part of Team Ireland for Tokyo in 2 weeks’ time. With less than a month to go until the start of the Games the excitement is building as they focus on their final preparations.
The two gymnasts are among the first generation of gymnasts to come through the restructured Gymnastics Ireland High-Performance system now based at the Sport Ireland Campus.
They will be joined by coaches Emma Hammill and Luke Carson, Performance & Technical (P&T) Manager Sally Johnson and Brevet Judge Denis Donoghue.
McClenaghan will be up first to compete on Pommel on Saturday 24th July, while Ryan will compete in the Women’s All-Around event on Sunday 25th July. Further details on how to watch the games on RTE will be announced soon.
“I’m incredibly proud to be representing Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics,” said McClenaghan. “I will also be representing everybody who has helped and supported me along the way in my career. This will forever be one of my greatest achievements, and I look forward to having the opportunity to show everybody what I have been working on through all these years.”
“I’m delighted,” added Ryan. “It was a long wait for me but it feels amazing to finally get the confirmation. I’ve worked really hard so I can’t wait to get out there now.”
“After a very difficult year, it is superb to see our gymnasts officially join Team Ireland,” said Gymnastics Ireland CEO Ciaran Gallagher.
“Huge congratulations to Meg in booking her place to Tokyo alongside Rhys. It has been a huge amount of work for both gymnasts to get to this point in addition to their coaches Emma and Luke.”
“It is also excellent to see that the GI High-Performance system, led by our P&T Manager Sally Johnson, is working and has been able to facilitate these talented gymnasts in booking their places to Tokyo.”
“There has been a huge amount of work and investment by Gymnastics Ireland and Sport Ireland in restructuring/building our HP system over the last number of cycles. Rhys and Meg stepping out into the arena in Tokyo in a few weeks’ time will only serve as motivation for the many talented young gymnasts on our national squad who are looking to follow in their footsteps! Roll on Tokyo 2020.”
“It has been an incredible journey to these Olympic Games,” added Johnson. “Coaches Luke and Emma have worked extremely hard in preparing Rhys and Meg for these Games starting from their very first session at a young age on the Irish Squad program, both following through to compete in the Youth Olympic Games, Junior Europeans and leading into the Senior program representing Ireland in World Cups, European Championships and World Championships.”
A special mention to Sport Ireland and the Sport Ireland Institute for all the support provided in the gymnastics program. For the gymnasts, coaches and their families, myself and the Gymnastics Ireland team, it is a very proud selection. We are looking forward to finally travelling to the Games and I wish the very best of luck and a great experience for all”.
“I felt exceptionally proud when Rhys and I wore our Olympic kit for the first time, said coach Luke Carson. “It was a reminder that hard work pays off and to truly strive to achieve what you want in life. I am incredibly grateful for all the support along the way from Gymnastics Ireland & Sport Ireland who have helped make this happen.”
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