McClenaghan to face old rival Whitlock in pommel horse final at World Championships

No one said it would be easy, and Rhys McClenaghan will need to beat his old rival Max Whitlock if he’s to defend his pommel horse title at the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

And that’s just for starters. After Saturday’s rotation qualifying rounds, McClenaghan finished with the third best score of 14.933, with Britain’s Whitlock coming out on top with his impressive 15.266.

The final, set for next Saturday afternoon, will also see the American Khoi Young, competing in his first World Championships, start with a higher qualifying score than McClenaghan, second best of the lot with his 15.066.

Last month at the World Cup event in Paris, Whitlock took gold with a score of 15.450, McClenaghan second on 15.100, that marking Whitlock’s first international event since he won gold at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.

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Whitlock wasn’t in Liverpool last November when McClenaghan became the first Irish gymnast to win a global gold medal, delivering the perfectly executed routine loaded with difficultly in scoring 15.300. McClenaghan, now 24, followed that with another European title last April.

“I’m very happy with my performance, it was enough to make the final,” McClenaghan said of his qualifying routine in Antwerp. “My third World Championships final, and my sixth World Championships as well.

“So I’m happy with how the performance went and I’m looking forward to improving on that performance in the final.”

Whitlock looked typically impressive when topping qualifying with a score of 15.266, the now 30-year-old boasting 14 medals and six titles in Olympic and World Championships. Before winning in Paris last month, he’d cited mental health struggles as part of the reason for his hiatus.

Qualifying just behind McClenaghan was Ahmad Abu Al Sud from Jordan, who was fourth best qualifier with his score of 14.900, the eight-man final on Saturday also providing the first of the qualifying quota places for next year’s Paris Olympics.

Eamon Montgomery, Dominick Cunningham and Adam Steele were also competing in qualifications: their top scores of 12.500 on floor for Montgomery, 14.366 on vault for Steele, and 13.700 on floor for Cunningham.