'Perfection isn't attainable but we'll try' - McClenaghan coasts into Olympic final
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Rhys McClenaghan has coasted into the Olympic final of the men’s pommel horse after a composed performance at Arena Bercy in Paris on Saturday night, the two-time world champion netting a score of 15.200 to top the standings in qualification.
USA’s Stephen Nedoroscik also scored 15.200 but McClenaghan goes into the final as the top-ranked gymnast based on his superior execution score.
The 25-year-old Newtownards gymnast set a relatively modest difficulty score – for him – of 6.300 but nailed its execution, scoring 8.900, the two comprising his final tally.
“I want to be pushing more and more, perfection isn't attainable but we'll try,” he said.
“There's 1.1 deductions that the judge found. In gymnastics, the judges will always find something, but I want to have them guessing as much as possible.”
McClenaghan will line up for his second straight Olympic final next Saturday where he will again go up against two-time Olympic pommel horse champion Max Whitlock of Britain, who qualified with 15.166. He will unveil a different routine for that as he bids to win gold – which he has long stated is his aim.
“I can upgrade and I plan to upgrade,” he said.
McClenaghan faced heartbreak at the last Olympics in Tokyo, going into the men’s pommel final as one of the medal favourites, having scored 15.266 in qualification.
But in the final things went awry, McClenaghan catching a finger on the pommel’s handle and falling off the horse, resulting in a seventh-place finish.
He said that competition was not in his mind ahead of the event.
“It was an experience that was needed obviously and I’m down here in front of you, a two-time world champion and that just kind of shows I come back from disappointments and I'm just enjoying being here – a two-time Olympian, two-time Olympic finalist.”
He plans to stay in the village for the coming seven days before the final and is relishing the experience of his second Games. “I'm up the top of the mountain and I'm just enjoying the view,” he said. “It's exciting.”
Asked about the pressure of the Olympic stage, McClenaghan said it’s little different to what he experiences each day.
“That's what it almost takes a bit of pressure off on the competition day because I need to improve for tomorrow and the next day after that and every single day I go into training, I'm treating it like a competition and it's draining because every day I'm nervous, I'm putting pressure on myself to perform a routine even though it's just in front of my coach and an empty gym.
"But it then makes moments like this a lot easier.”