Rhys McClenaghan, an outstanding Irish gymnast, made history by becoming the first Irish to ever win an Olympic medal in gymnastics. At the age of 25, he clinched an Olympic gold medal in the final round of the Pommel Horse category with an impressive score of 15.533, marking the sixth medal for Team Ireland at these Games and its third gold medal.
McClenaghan’s majestic performance comprised an extraordinary difficulty score of 6.600 along with an exceptional execution score of 8.933, culminating in a score of 15:333. McClenaghan, sharing his emotions from the day, confessed he wasn’t instantly aware that he had secured the gold medal upon landing, but he certainly felt a profound sense of accomplishment. He relished in completing the most challenging routine possible, leading to a rush of emotional tears.
McClenaghan fondly marked this event as the “best pommel horse final” he has ever seen in the realm of men’s gymnastics. He acknowledged the fiercely competitive field, stating that any of the eight finalists could have won gold that day. Talking about his feelings post-performance, he confessed to feeling relief and pride. He also mentioned an inspiring moment from the London 2012 Olympic Games – watching Louis Smith’s performance, seeing posters of Smith everywhere, as one of his favourite Olympic memories.
Carrying the hopes of becoming Ireland’s first ever Olympic gymnastics medalist, the two-time world champion equated the pressure to carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders – that was like Louis Smith’s moment at the London 2012 Olympics. However, he conveyed that despite the pressure, he nevertheless managed to deliver an exceptional performance.
In the women’s boxing, Kellie Harrington of Ireland made history by reaching two Olympic finals – a first for any Irish woman. Securing a 4-1 split decision victory over Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira, Harrington displayed a combination of surprise and speechlessness. While she was anticipating an aggressive approach from Ferreira, Harrington managed to hold her ground and win. She expressed that the sport doesn’t define her as a person and that being happy is all that matters to her. Harrington will meet China’s Wenlu Yang in the final on Tuesday evening at 10:06pm Irish time, taking place at the Roland Garros tennis stadium.
Meanwhile in swimming, Daniel Wiffen, the Olympic champion, has ensured a place in the central lane for Sunday’s 1,500m freestyle final, taking place at 5:37pm Irish time. This comes after his impressive heat swim on Saturday morning. Wiffen, from Armagh, finished in 14:40:34, ahead of 800m freestyle bronze medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy and Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi. This timing happens to be Wiffen’s fourth fastest ever and second fastest in 2024, only behind his gold-medal world championships swim in Doha (14:34:07).
Following his swimming performance, Wiffen remarked, “Truth be told, I was suffering from some lingering exhaustion. My sleep patterns haven’t been quite right since the 800m. I’m clocking in eight hours, but the quality of sleep isn’t quite there.
The initial part of the swim was slightly uneasy, but then I found my rhythm and was taken aback by the speed I achieved. It felt more like a 14:50 swim, but it ended up being a 14:40 swim, perhaps my mental calibration of pacing is slightly adrift.
Asked about his recovery strategy before Sunday’s finale, Wiffen said: “I’m planning on getting a lot of rest. That was the advice given by the Chinese 100m freestyler when he broke the world record, and I plan to follow suit…get loads of sleep. I’ve had to abandon the 800m issue, push it to the back of my consciousness. I’m heading into this race as if I haven’t achieved anything yet, and maintaining the same mindset I had for the 800m final.
“I’ll let you in on a secret goal of mine. I aim to break the world record. If it happens, great, if not, it isn’t the end of the world, but I truly believe this feat may be necessary to secure the gold, so we shall wait and see.”
Both the men’s and women’s Irish 4x100m medley relay teams achieved sixth place in their respective rounds and 11th overall, setting new national records in the process. The men’s team, composed of Conor Ferguson (backstroke), Darragh Greene (breaststroke), Max McCusker (butterfly), and Shane Ryan (freestyle) shattered the previous record of 3:34.62 (established in May 2021) with a new time of 3:33.81, pushing them up four positions in the rankings.
This marked a historic occasion for an Irish men’s medley relay team to participate in an Olympic Games. Ryan also secured his place in history as the first Irishman to contest in three Olympic Games.
In the women’s event, Mona McSharry, who previously won bronze in 100m breaststroke, teamed up with Danielle Hill (specialising in backstroke), Ellen Walshe (known for butterfly), and Grace Davison (master of freestyle). Together, they smashed the previous Irish record of 4:01.75 achieved at the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships. Clocking in a combined 4:00.12, they secured their spot in Paris. This team line-up was different from the last one where Victoria Catterson was included. Interestingly, it’s the first involvement of an Irish team in the medley event since 1972.
In the Women’s 50m freestyle, Hill gave her third best performance, finishing eighth in her heat and 21st in total with a time of 25.02. The busy week for this Larne swimmer comprised participation in the women’s freestyle relay, 100m backstroke, and two Saturday morning events. She moved forward to the semi-final of the backstroke event.
When it comes to golf, Rory McIlroy took an impressive leap into the medal running in the men’s individual tournament after a flawless round of 66 at Le Golf National. McIlroy had five birdies on Saturday and sits at 10 under par, making him four shots behind the joint leaders, American Xander Schauffele and Spaniard Jon Rahm, going into Sunday’s final round. Defending Olympic champion Schauffele, Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Hideki Matsuyama and world number one Scottie Scheffler are among the top 10. Shane Lowry also climbed the leaderboard due to his eight birdies on Saturday morning, leaving him in joint 23rd place, nine shots behind the leading contender.
Lastly, in the cycling domain, Ben Healy finished in 10th place, marking Ireland’s top finish in Olympic cycling. Success came in the 272.1km men’s road race due to the strong performance from Healy and Ryan Mullen. Mullen launched an early attack alongside three other competitors only 70m into the race, before advancing to join the front group and swiftly leaving them behind.
In characteristic vigorous fashion, Ben Healy launched a spirited counter-offensive from the main pack in unison with Alexiy Lutsenko when there was still 92km left. Healy teamed up with Mullen at the 76km mark, following a notable push made by Mullen to open up a winning opportunity for his team-mate. However, Mullen dropped back 10km after, leaving Healy to continue in the company of the Kazak rider. Even as a high-quality group hot on his heels joined him, he managed to maintain a lead within the ultimate 30km with just two other riders breakaway – eventual victor Remco Evenepoel and silver prizewinner Valentin Madouas.
Healy was reeled in by the chasing pack but demonstrated substantial perseverance to remain with the group of eight racers, trailing by a minute 16 seconds, as they sprinted for the bronze at the Trocadero, overshadowed by the Eiffel Tower. This was a momentous occasion for Irish cycling. After his gallant breakaway performance, Ryan Mullen crossed the finish line in the 60th position, trailing the winner by just under 16m 56s.
Reflecting on the race, Healy stated: “I utilised what I had and strategised in the best possible manner to give myself a shot at getting a medal. The performance and the team have made me extremely proud. I have to be content with the outcome. Perhaps if I had a smidgen left in me, I may have clinched a medal, but a top 10 finish is still a big accomplishment.”
Moving onto sailing, Eve McMahon (Howth Yacht Club), at 21 years old, stood 22nd in the fourth race of the women’s dinghy fleet series. She ranked 34th in the fifth race, which will probably be excluded from her overall score. Nevertheless, McMahon wrapped up the day on a more upbeat note, placing 13th in the sixth race and standing 17th overall.
In the men’s dinghy fifth race, Finn Lynch (National Yacht Club) settled for the 12th spot, but climbed up to a commendable 7th in the sixth race, ending the day in the 15th overall position.
Canoe Slalom
All three individuals taking part in the canoeing segment progressed to the subsequent Kayak Cross stage. Madison Corcoran secured her place in the upcoming Women’s Kayak Cross heats on Sunday, following a second place finish in the repechage round. Despite crossing the finish line fourth in the first round on Saturday, she managed to race again in the repechage in the evening.
Corcoran initially struggled at the inaugural upstream gate, falling behind her Chinese and Polish counterparts. However, she managed to overtake China at the next upstream gate, ensuring the gate was completely cleared. Despite China finishing ahead of Ireland, they incurred a fault on the gate, leaving Corcoran to advance to the heats.
Both Noel Hendrick and Liam Jegou, participants in the men’s Kayak Cross, failed to qualify directly to the heats during the first round, leading to them taking part in the afternoon’s repechage. Hendrick secured third place in the initial round, with Jegou trailing closely behind in fourth.
Hendrick demonstrated a strong performance in the repechage, winning his race and confirming his participation in Sunday’s heats. Liam Jegou similarly triumphed in his repechage, setting him up for the following round.
Turning our attention to athletics, Cathal Doyle demonstrated a master class in tactics to move onto the semi-finals of the Men’s 1,500m. The 26-year-old from Dublin clinched victory in his repechage heat with a time of 3:34.92.
Regrettably, Luke McCann placed seventh in the same heat, clocking in at 3:36.50. Only the top three positions in his heat advanced, resulting in McCann missing out on qualification. Andrew Coscoran’s performance also fell short in his repechage, finishing in 12th place with a time of 3:39.45.