Commonwealth Games as ‘training day’, says Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan

GLASGOW – Olympic gymnastics champion Rhys McClenaghan dismissed the Commonwealth Games as a “training day” after he failed to win a medal in the men’s pommel final on July 27.

The Northern Irishman starred in Paris two years ago to claim Olympic gold, but was only sixth in Glasgow after a new mount at the start of his routine backfired.

McClenaghan failed to earn a medal at the Games for the first time after claiming gold in the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018 and silver in Birmingham, England, four years ago.

But the 27-year-old shrugged off the disappointment as he looked ahead to the upcoming European and world championships.

“This is a training day for me, so we go back to the gym as soon as we can, and we tackle it just like we tackle any training day,” said McClenaghan, who also won the world championships in 2022 and 2023.

“Even if I had won gold here, it still would have been treated as a stepping stone...

“We’ve got our eye on the prize for the Europeans.”

Jordan Carroll secured gold for Canada, and there was more success for host Scotland as all-around champion Reuben Ward claimed silver and his teammate Cameron Lynn took bronze.

“Scotland is a force to be reckoned with in gymnastics and we are starting to prove that,” said Ward, who claimed Scotland’s first all-around medal on July 26. “I began it the other day and we are snowballing now.”

England’s Luke Whitehouse made up for the disappointing performance in the men’s all-around competition by taking gold in the men’s floor final.

The 24-year-old admitted he had been distracted since teammate Gabriel Langton crashed off the high bar midway through the team final on July 24, requiring an overnight stay in hospital.

“There’s been a lot going on,” Whitehouse said. “You’ve just got to try and ignore the noise and focus on your routines. Gabriel’s my roommate here and to know that he’s fine and doing well, I couldn’t be happier.”

Canada’s 16-year-old sensation Lia-Monica Fontaine won gold in the vault to add to her all-around bronze. England’s Abigail Martin took silver, with Abigail Roper of Wales winning bronze.

Roper’s twin sister Emily also won bronze in the uneven bars, behind Australia’s Kate McDonald and Ellie Black of Canada.

Canada’s Felix Dolci added a third medal and second gold of the Games with victory in the men’s rings ahead of compatriot William Emard and James Hardy of Australia.

At the Games, Langton admitted he feared for his future in the sport after a freak horror fall at the event.

The 19-year-old fell head first from 3m after missing his catch on the horizontal bar during the men’s team event.

“I knew that I could talk still, I could move a lot of things, but I was just hoping that I could do gym again really,” said Langton, after scans revealed nothing worse than soreness and swelling.

“With other injuries like a leg injury, it’s not nice, but you know most of the time that those things will heal. I suppose neck injuries are to be taken seriously, so I was just hoping that it wasn’t anything too bad.

“When I got the scans back, it was a big relief. My thought process switched quite quickly to being, ‘I should be back in the gym quite soon’.”

Langton returned to the team hotel on July 25, where he was reunited with his England teammates and presented with a silver medal.

The gymnast, who was not concussed and never lost consciousness during the incident, said he did not expect the accident to have a lasting impact.

“I’ve done that skill so many times – probably about 10,000 times – and this has happened once,” he said.

“I think you can see that this was just a freak accident, and it was just a shame that it happened under these circumstances.

“I’m pretty confident that I can put it to one side and trust in my gymnastics again.” AFP