Rhys McClenaghan won Ireland’s maiden gymnastics gold on pommel horse but there was heartbreak for Max Whitlock in his final competition.
McClenaghan was the one in despair in Tokyo after he could only finish seventh but he went into this final as the leading qualifier and two-time world champion, with the Irishman playing his role as favourite to perfection.
Kazakhstan’s Nariman Kurbanov opened the competition with a huge score of 15.433 but fell behind when McClenaghan’s mark came up as 15.533, with the 25-year-old setting a target that could not be beaten by any of the remaining finalists.
McClenaghan became Ireland’s first Olympic medallist in artistic gymnastics and left Kurbanov taking silver, with American Stephen Nedoroscik 0.1 ahead of Whitlock – chasing a third successive Olympic title on the pommel horse – in bronze.
“It feels like a dream,” McClenaghan said. “It’s a dream well earned and I just can’t believe it’s happened. It always felt like it was going to happen but I wasn’t sure when.
“Listen, everybody at home, see this as an example of find a dream that you love, chase it and enjoy that journey because, I can tell you, if I fell off that pommel today, I still would have loved this journey, every single second of it, but I didn’t and today I’m walking away with an Olympic gold medal.”
Whitlock could not hide his disappointment after a heart-breaking end to his historic gymnastics career, having won bronze at London 2012 before claiming gold in Rio and Tokyo, with the 31-year-old marked down for errors during his fiendishly difficult routine and finishing fourth with a score of 15.200.
Max Whitlock finished just short of adding to his medal tally on his Olympics farewell
“I’m disappointed,” Whitlock said. “I think because it’s so raw, it’s quite tricky. It was hard, it was my final one. I, of course, didn’t want it to finish that way.
“Coming to Paris with the decision made that this was going to be my final one – not based on what the outcome would be, just based on getting here in the first place and making my fourth Olympic Games – I’m proud of that.
Whitlock had won medals in each of his three appearances at the Olympics
“Of course I would have liked this chapter to end a little bit better but it wasn’t to be. There’s a reason for everything and I think it wasn’t my day today. It was a very, very strong pommel final, amazing routines from everybody.”
Jarman celebrates gymnastics gold for Team GB
Earlier, Jake Jarman secured Britain’s first artistic gymnastics medal in the French capital in a high-level floor final, taking bronze, his first Olympic medal. The 22-year-old had the highest score in qualifying and also topped the floor standings during the men’s all-around final.
Jake Jarman’s bronze was the fifth medal won by Team GB on day eight of the Paris Olympics
But his routine was not quite as clean as that of gold medallist Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines, who scored 15.001 to become the first man from his country to win an Olympic title, while Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat took silver, with Jarman just behind on 14.933.
“I’m super proud,” said Jarman. “It’s definitely a massive achievement. Floor, although I post some crazy videos, historically I’ve not done well on floor in major championships.
“I’ve only got a bronze medal at a European Championships so, to be walking away with an Olympic medal, I feel like I’ve skipped a step. It’s unbelievable.”
Jarman’s team-mate Luke Whitehouse, European champion in the discipline, finished down in sixth with 14.466 despite a very impressive routine after being marked down for difficulty following a low landing. He will have another chance of a medal when he goes in the final on vault on Sunday, where he is world champion.
Seven heaven for Biles after women’s vault gold
An “ecstatic” Simone Biles won her seventh Olympic gold medal and third of this Games in the women’s vault.
The American was all smiles after landing a Yurchenko double pike, known as the Biles II, on her first vault, taking only a small step back and scoring a massive 15.700.
Simone Biles has now won three gold medals in Paris and seven during her Olympics career
Her second vault was scored at 14.900, giving her an overall mark of 15.300 and leaving her well clear of Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade in silver, while another American, Jade Carey, took bronze.
“I’m super excited, ecstatic for how my vaults were,” said Biles. “I wanted to perform them well, and I think you saw that. I put in a lot of work to be able to perform that vault (the Yurchenko double pike) well. I’m excited I got to show that here during finals.”
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