World champion Rhys McClenaghan formally selected for Paris Olympics by OFI

The Newtownards-born gymnast was seventh on his Olympic debut in Tokyo.

The pommel horse events takes places in the Bercy Arena in the French capital on July 27 with the final scheduled for August 3.

McClenaghan will celebrate his 25th birthday on July 21, a week before the official opening of the Games.

In October 2023, McClenaghan achieved qualification for Paris 2024 when he became World Champion in the men’s pommel in Antwerp, winning the sole automatic allocation spot for the Games.

He won the World title for the first time in Liverpool in 2022 and has also won three European gold medals, a Commonwealth title as well as a world bronze medal in 2018.

The men’s Pommel Horse is one of the surviving events from the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and is a shoulder and technique-based event with rhythmic motion originating from the starting point, the mount.

Scoring is based on the execution and the difficulty scores calculated by judges.

Speaking on his selection by the Olympic Federation of Ireland, McClenaghan said: “It’s a huge honour to be selected for my second Olympics Games. It is the biggest show in the world, and I am looking forward to going out and performing to my best.

“My routine is both challenging and ambitious, which is what it needs to be in order to compete at this level.”

Olympic Federation of Ireland Chef de Mission for Paris 2024, Gavin Noble said: “Rhys is an exciting athlete, and always a great addition to a team.

“We are delighted to officially select him to Team Ireland for the Paris Olympics. It takes a huge amount of dedication and training to compete at this level, and it is even more impressive for Rhys to be going into the Games as reigning World and European Champion, we wish him the best of luck.”