Rhys McClenaghan has dealt with broken bones and shoulder surgery but he never once doubted pursuing a career in gymnastics.
The Co. Down native became the first Olympian to win a medal for Ireland in gymnastics at Paris 2024 when his perfect routine earned him gold with the judges.
It was a comeback moment for Rhys, who unfortunately fell off his pommel horse three years previously at Tokyo 2020. Despite the setback, the 25-year-old was determined to keep going and never felt like quitting the sport he loves so much.
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Rhys told RSVP Live: “There was never a time after Tokyo I thought about giving up gymnastics. Of course, there are going to be doubts about the correct strategies, routine constructions, and maybe the mindset going into the Games, but those things are just part of the journey.
“I identified any weaknesses after Tokyo and that’s why I went on to have one of the most successful cycles for any gymnast. It’s about not being scared to look at the weaknesses, and trying to improve them. If you sit back and highlight all of your weaknesses rather than strengths, it’s quite a vulnerable thing to do. But the main thing is not being scared of going for it again.”
Gymnastics is quite a high risk sport and Rhys has picked up many injuries along the way. Thankfully, none of them have jeopardised his career and he knows how to react appropriately.
“I’ve constantly gotten injured throughout my gymnastics career. That just comes with being a gymnast,” he explained.
“I’ve had surgery on my shoulder, stress fractures in my wrists, broken fingers – so many things throughout the years. But that’s part of the journey of learning where the limits of your body can go.
“When you get injured you can establish how you’ve pushed that limit too far and try to find the middle ground so it doesn’t happen again.”
Rhys is currently wowing audiences on Dancing With The Stars and earned the first 10s of the season last Sunday, when he and his partner Laura Nolan performed an energetic Spider Man-themed Charleston for Movie Week.
The Olympian has quickly become a fan favourite and many people are predicting he could lift the glitterball trophy in March. However, Rhys takes a similar approach to gymnastics when it comes to dealing with the pressure of the competition.
He said: “I don’t read comments on social media very often so I think I avoid a lot of that speculation. When Laura and I celebrate at the end of our performance, it’s a celebration for us that we put on a good show.
“Quite often the performance on Sunday is the best one we’ve done all week. We’re not really looking at the leaderboard in that moment.
“The same thing happens to me in gymnastics competitions. When you see me celebrating, I’m not thinking if it’s enough for gold because I don’t know what the judges are going to score me at all. I just celebrate that I’ve done a good job and it is the exact same thing on Sunday nights.”
Sunday night is Dedicated Dance Week on Dancing With The Stars, and Rhys will pay tribute to his coach Luke Carson by performing a jive to Gold Dust by DJ Fresh.
“The reason I’m dedicating this dance to Luke is because without his help in my career, the gold medal would not exist,” he explained.
“I feel like I’m always going to be indebted to Luke in some way. When you think of someone winning gold, it’s always the athletes on the TV or the front page of the newspapers and often the coach is seen as the side act.
“It’s important to shed light on a coach like Luke and tell people why I would not have any of my success without him.”
Dancing With The Stars airs Sunday nights at 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
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