Rhys McClenaghan is a back-to-back world champion after claiming another stunning gold medal in the pommel horse event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp.
The 24-year-old County Down athlete was last out of the eight finalists in what was a high-profile field, with Great Britain's Max Whitlock and USA's Khoi Young finishing ahead of the Irish man in qualifying.
However, when a Whitlock error took him out of the running, it came down to a battle between Young and McClenaghan for top spot.
Youngster Khoi (20) produced a brilliant routine, but it was no match for McClenaghan who was inch-perfect for a score of 15.100, well up on his qualifying mark of 14.933.
It's the latest success for the Irish athlete who also booked his Paris Olympic spot in the process.
It was 2020 Olympic silver medallist Chih Kai-Lee first up but, after clipping his foot early on, he fell off the horse midway through his routine to end any hopes of a podium finish – finishing his routine with a messy dismount for a score of 13.500.
Next up was favourite Whitlock, who had a qualifying score of 15.266, and the 30-year-old started in fantastic fashion before coming off the apparatus. That point deduced saw him still record an impressive score of 14.300.
Young, second in qualifying with 15.066, was presented with a great opportunity due to Whitliock’s error, and he took advantage with a score of 14.966 off a difficulty of 6.5 with his one-armed dismount thrilling the crowd.
Germany's Nils Dunkel recorded an at-times untidy 13.766 with his execution well down on qualifying before Kenta Chiba of Japan completed a clean routine for a score of 14.200.
Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al-Soud was sixth out and moved into second with a score of 14.633 before Armenian veteran Harutyun Merdinyan, now 39, produced an excellent showing to move to 14.600.
That left the stage clear for McClenaghan, who knew that a clean run would all but guarantee a medal and possibly Olympic qualification. That duly arrived for another great chapter in his gymnastics career.
