Rhys McClenaghan: 'I'm the current Olympic champion, and I should remember that'
Olympic Champion and Red Bull Athlete Rhys McClenaghan was speaking today following the conclusion of the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships where he placed 10th overall. Pic: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Rhys McClenaghan remains convinced he can rediscover his Olympic gold-winning form despite missing out on the World Championships final in Rotterdam, insisting recent disappointments will not define his career.
The Newtownards gymnast finished seventh at the European Championships in Zagreb two months ago before failing to qualify for the final of the Worlds in the Netherlands last weekend.
The results fell short of his expectations, although competing in both competitions also marked an important stage in his recovery from shoulder surgery in 2025.
McClenaghan was one of two reserves for the Rotterdam final and stayed until the end of the championships. Afterwards, he posted on Instagram about using the experience as motivation to improve and work his way back into medal contention.
The post drew a response from former Olympic silver medallist Filipe Ude, who suggested the 27-year-old should accept that he was no longer at the top of the sport and that it was time to make way for younger gymnasts.
Armenia’s Hamlet Manukyan is leading the vanguard; the 19-year-old topped his European triumph last year by becoming world champion.
'You are not the best anymore, and that is ok', Ude wrote. 'Admit to yourself and take time for yourself and just enjoy your life and let it go my friend'.
McClenaghan, who won Olympic gold in Paris in 2024, highlighted the comment in a follow-up post. Ude later responded that he had intended no disrespect, describing the Irish gymnast as 'a legend'.
Speaking in Dublin on Monday at an event in his role as a Red Bull ambassador, McClenaghan said Ude's response represented a negative outlook on his career, one that he was familiar with in the wake of his failure to make the podium in the Tokyo Olympics, but it was one outweighed by the support he had received.
“I was sharing my disappointment with the outcome and the result, so that's why I wasn't scared,” he explained. “It wasn't like a private message that I'm outing him here or anything, it was a public message.” McClenaghan noted that the Croatian won silver at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 but had not won a major medal since.
“The amount of positive support and encouraging words that I've received in the last few days have been definitely outweighing those negative comments,” he said.
McClenaghan is also adapting to changes in the sport. Routines now count eight skills rather than 10, a shift he believes has helped younger gymnasts familiar with the format as they transition from the junior ranks, while experienced competitors have had to rebuild routines designed for the previous system.
He welcomes the changes and the introduction of electronic judging, used to record deductions during the apparatus finals in Rotterdam. However, he would also welcome still more transparency, including public access to individual judges’ decisions and any subsequent reviews.
McClenaghan spent much of 2025 training through shoulder pain before surgery and a prolonged rehabilitation. He now feels he is beginning to move beyond a tough period in his career.
“I feel like I'm really coming out the other side of it,” he said. “My body's adapting again to training, adapting to the routine, to the training load in general, and hopefully 2027 will be a lot more pain-free.”
After a quick trip to LA and then a holiday in Iceland before Christmas, the 27-year-old's attention will turn to qualification for the LA Olympics, with the process beginning early in the new year with the World Series.
The outright winner will earn automatic passage through to the World Championships finals in Chengdu, China, where only three Olympic places are available to pommel horse specialists through the qualification pathway.
McClenaghan knows he can deal with the pressure that's coming. He secured his place at Paris by winning the 2023 World Championships, having seen his Olympic debut in Japan end in disappointment when his finger caught on the apparatus.
“I need to maintain standard, I need to be one of the best in the world, undoubtedly, to even just get my ticket to the Olympics,” he said.
He believes the standard on pommel horse is higher than ever, with rule changes and the quality of the field raising the level of competition. But he remains confident that he can respond.
“I'm the current Olympic champion, and I should remember that. And I've built my way to the top before, I've gone through disappointments,” he said.
“I understand how fragile the results in this sport can be. One small mistake is the difference, and that small mistake shouldn't really define you.”
The contrast between Tokyo and Paris, he said, showed how narrow margins can change an athlete’s fortunes, and that treating the Rotterdam result as a catastrophe would not help him move forward.
“I'm confident I can do it, for sure,” McClenaghan said. “I'm only seeing the positives and only seeing the pathway to becoming the best in the world again.”
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