Gymnast Rhys McClenaghan has won gold for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
The 18-year-old from Bangor claimed in medal in the pommel horse, just pipping double Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock to the title.
It was Northern Ireland's first medal of the Games and also their first ever gymnastics medal.
"The feeling is just relief and I felt a surge of emotion through my body. I was so nervous watching Max and waiting for his score and I felt a bit stunned when I saw that score," McClenaghan is quoted as saying by Sky Sports after the event.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES CHAMPION on Pommel Horse!!!!🥇 Thank you for all the support! Coming for that World title next Max... pic.twitter.com/aFg6WhXlXF
— Rhys Mcclenaghan (@McClenaghanRhys) April 8, 2018
The win had the teenager in a buoyant and confident mood. He added that though Whitlock may be the Olympic champion, he has now overtaken the 25-year-old Brit.
Max is one of the best gymnasts ever and I remember watching him at the 2010 Commonwealth Games when I was 10 years old. To be competing against him is incredible but I'm up there with him now and I've even overtaken him.
One of McClenaghan's next big targets will be the Olympic Games where he could compete for Ireland. Last year, the Olympic Council of Ireland announced that McClenaghan was one of 12 young Irish hopefuls to receive an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to assist with qualification and preparation for the Tokyo Games.
In 2016, McClenaghan became the first ever Irish gymnast to win a European Championship medal when he took U18 silver in the pommel horse.
