Injured McClenaghan out of European Championships

Olympic pommel horse champion Rhys McClenaghan has been forced to withdraw from this month's European Championships because of an unspecified injury.

The 25 year-old, who completed the career Grand Slam by winning gold in Paris last summer, was scheduled to make his competitive comeback in Leipzig between 26 and 31 May.

McClenaghan would have been defending his title, having been crowned European champion for each of the past two years.

As well as the three continental titles, the Newtownards gymnast won a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2018 and was world champion in 2022 and 2023.

After last year's Olympics, McClenaghan took a break away from the sport but had recently returned to full-time training and the European Championships were to have been his first major competition since Paris.

The injury is not thought to be serious and McClenaghan will now focus on the World Championships which are due to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia in October.

On his Instagram account, McClenaghan posted: “I tried my best to push through preparation but an injury kept holding me back.

"I chose to prioritise being healthy and recovering for future competitions this year and be sure that I can put out my best work yet.

"I may not be retaining my European title but the path to being the GOAT [greatest of all time] is still very clear.”