Rhys McClenaghan described his gold medal at the FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool as a childhood dream come true.
The 23-year-old put recent disappointments behind him to take gold in the pommel horse with an assured and composed performance that put him top of the standings.
The third of eight competitors in the final, the Newtownards native watched on as the five remaining opponents failed to knock him out of gold position.
Having taken bronze at the Stuttgart World Championships in 2019, McClenaghan made his own bit of history on Merseyside by becoming Ireland's first ever gymnastics world champion.
Asked how he felt in the aftermath of such a performance, McClenaghan said: "I’m feeling good. I’m just living in this moment... the moment I became world champion, and I couldn’t be happier right now."
Immediately after the winning performance, McClenaghan was interviewed by the BBC and struggled to get any words out, overcome with emotion with the enormity of the achievement setting in.
"It was because it was the first time I heard somebody call me a world champion. Something just switched in my head where I just burst into tears and I couldn’t get one word out. It just shows how much this means to means to me. It’s a childhood dream come true.
"It is something I have been working towards for so many years and I’m just so glad that it paid off today."
The result demonstrated the resilience of the gymnast after some recent struggles.
The Tokyo Games, where he was tipped as a serious medal hope for Team Ireland, saw McClenaghan finish in seventh in the pommel horse.
Earlier this year he failed to make the European final, and also referenced "messing up" at the Commonwealth Games. It added to a greater understanding of where he needed to improve.
"I have made sure I learned from them. That almost felt like this sport was kicking me when I was down, but I got up every time and I certainly got up today."
Despite the aforementioned setbacks, McClenaghan says that outside pressure was never a factor as the main pressure came from within, and channeled in the right way, is a positive rather than a negative.
"I have put so much pressure on myself every single day in training and in every come I do. When it comes to a world final, I’m almost maxed out in pressure. It’s a very familiar feeling to me
"I use it to my advantage. I use it to perform even sharper than I do in training, and I think that really paid off today."
