Olympic pommel horse champion Rhys McClenaghan has missed out on a medal at the European Championships in Zagreb, finishing seventh in the apparatus final.
The three-time European gold medallist scored 14.166, down on his qualification score of 14.400, while Italy’s Gabriele Targhetta took gold with 15.133. Silver and bronze went to the Armenian duo of Hamlet Manukyan and Mamikon Khachatryan.
McClenaghan, who finished sixth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month, is still in the early stages of his return to competition following shoulder surgery last year.
In the floor final, Eamon Montgomery finished seventh after suffered a penalty for stepping out of bounds, reducing his final score to 13.5330.
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Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat won gold with a score of 14.466, while Russian Arsenii Dukhno (competing as a neutral athlete) and Britain’s Harry Hepworth finished second and third respectively.
Noting Montgomery was competing in his first European final, Gymnastics Ireland performance & technical director Sally Johnson commended him on the “brilliant achievement”, adding it was “a great reward for all his hard work”.
Gymnastics Ireland chief executive Ciaran Gallagher added: “Eamon and Rhys continue to fly the flag for Gymnastics Ireland with their consistent world-class performances, each competition a stepping stone to the next as we head towards the 2026 Worlds and into next years qualification pathway to the LA 2028 Olympic Games.”
The World Championships are due to take place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in October.
