Rhys McClenaghan | Starting Gymnastics, Representing Ireland & Chasing Olympic Gold | Energized Show

Summary

What is up and welcome to the latest Energized Show! On this episode we have Irish Gymnast and Olympic qualifier Rhys McClenaghan on the show to discuss Starting gymnastics, Representing Ireland & His Olympic gold ambitions. Check it out, enjoy, subscribe for more and as always…

Transcript (youtube_captions)

okay what's going on guys and welcome to a brand new episode of energized today we have a very special guest on the show we have Islands next Olympic gold medalist Rhys McLean again 'harry new race is going guys thanks for that in truth next Olympic gold medalist I like it oh yeah yeah well like you don't have to be you're come in yeah you're all I think you're our best hope for going into the Olympics next year it is now yes and mostly I get straight into it heard was that I actually affect you Olympic stream into 2020 mourners are a positive thing and of the years training or is that a bad thing you're looking forward to your sort of rage peak this year I mean of course I was I was looking forward to it being this year and it was quite strange having to switch that mentality if you know it was it was going to be in what four months time I know I had 16 months time it's gonna be so it's weird it's weird for my brain to switch that meant I all day because you kind of had to hold back a bit noise so I was I was full throttle for that for that July Olympic Games but now I have to kind of take a step back a little bit and you can't you can't be full throttle for 16 months because you really just gets all that stuff that way I'm fairness it's like all you've never had to peak for something as serious as that and my life so like imagine there it's it's a big struggle and especially when you're doing a one-man event you know I mean you're not a team so it's just your preparation gets changed well it tells why the pommel horse and Hairy G an interest I mean I started like gymnastics when I was six so I when you start gymnastics at that young age you do all of the events so there's six events and I done all of the events just so the floor exercise the pommel horse the still rings the vault parallel bars and the horizontal bar so you know there's six events that you can compete in the all-around competition which dissolves and scores combined but then along the way people kind of just individualized there they're operetta stuff they're fast up mine was the pommel horse since it can never remember I always just gravitated towards the problem horse because it was just so much better than all the rest of the kid it's an ad that in itself inspired me to be a bit more better and yeah it's just it's it's elevated to where it isn't all right what else did you actually start doing gymnastics I started at six years old so we're at that age up until I was I still do all of the old six events but I just don't compete it it's it's not because I wouldn't be I wouldn't be contestant for a medal on the other events or there's no point getting injured and risk in that injury when you know I could bring home a medal for the country on the palm course but you know I do started learning all six events just to kind of see what won your bet start excuse me ignorance are honored born do the doing decathlon attack with the six events I'm someone competes in all them that's the yeah I have competed in all six events up until my last all-around competition was at the Commonwealth Games so content so that that is that's all around competition when the gymnast compete on all six events oh sorry all just knew you was miss your pommel horse yeah I mean that is the that's the main one so as I said like I can't make final and and like come top ten at the minute on their all-around competition but there's there's not really much point risk and injury and sacrifice and you know a potential medal on Pablo horse gold medal gold medal yeah like you're a thief lost and it's one of those things where I always find a sport swing strange where you're judged if that makes sense and so like it doesn't feel weird that your medal is in someone else's hands to say actually he was the best luckily it is and that's the tricky thing about the sport there can be it's a subjective sports so it's it's subject to the judges watching it's quite similar to boxing you know an armature box and it it's quite often goes to the to the judges scorecards and then sometimes there's a he'll take on it but you know I always wanted to leave the judges knowing that was that I was the best like way I had a feeling so that there is no controversy whatsoever yeah what age were you Reese when you realized you were actually like way superior than most people I'd say I would I think it was 15 at the I was competing at the British Championships one year as a guest and there's there's just final where because I was still a junior at this time there was this final we're all age groups can qualify to the final and at that time the two bass in the world Solar Smith and Marx Whitlock they were competing in the final and I'd placed on the podium just behind them no way I thought was kind of a realization so it was on it was on TV is on BBC is big thing it's like my first big event and really I was able to pull off that routine at 15 years olds and placed behind them big the best in the world that was like a real idea for me to be something special it really was it must be one of those things where you watched little Smith on the Maxwell lockers as you're probably going went jeez damn credible I know you're probably one of Mac's Whitlock's biggest Royals right now which is probably praised think and then Lou Smith is almost like slam be his own right he just love like sort of TV shows nowadays we fruit you see us have more going down you know going for your Olympic dreams like you want potential to do what tree tree little bits maybe yeah for sure that's definitely the velocity myself going on is continuing the Olympic dream hopefully all the other Olympics go to go to plan I go to the right there but yeah I could see myself doing three Olympics for sure question see the way the Olympics is in 2021 next year is there a limit percent in 2024 or will all the limbs get pushed back or just enough I back I'd say it would just be this one to be pushed back in and then next Olympics is 2024 and then 2020 hit Britain and then boys 2020 you'll be 128 from knowing yeah 28 29 yeah that's probably three Olympics many people train epochs and everyone who are you getting tattooed yeah for sure I want to go there first to consolidate and compete yeah and then after after the Olympics oh come on get an Olympic top see I'm still undecided where I'm going together I'm thinking before or maybe if you were together would you go slowly differently if you want a gold medal to have a gold medal dangled over your air and then greens or maybe make the Rings all and old yeah something to think about maybe yeah it'll come when I'm standing on the podium listen do not you know when you win your gold medal or before the Olympics next year we'll have you back on the show and then we can read this course tattoo yeah yeah oh wow the freshest how to count you down yeah sounds good I'm pretty much living in Dublin and training in Dublin at the National Sports compass so I'm just living just off campus but it's very close by so it's the perfect situation for training yeah when did you start first time training there that's it's coming close to two years no I so I moved on there when they when I wasn't able to tree in there wasn't any clubs in Northern Ireland so I moved on to the sports compass and it was perfect situation like the gym Don there's world-class they Institute the Sports Institute they have physios and doctors and nutritionists so it's just it was a no-brainer really to go down there for the preparation for Tokyo yeah how much have you improved since you started training there as well Oh a huge amount a huge amount done eight I did because I had the shoulder surgery last year it was good to be biessed on there with the physios and doctors and all around me helpin me with the rehab program because it was it's just the the rehab program just went so smoothly and I just came back at the right time you know for that world championships last year showcased everything that we'll be working on that whole year and yeah it was a perfect plan really how exactly did you get injured as well Rhys because it seems like you fully recover from it as well yeah so I it was pretty much just stress to the there's a joint cushion of my shoulder called the labrum and it tore I did I wouldn't have necessarily felt that just kind of it would have been a little shoulder pain but it wouldn't it wouldn't have been no wrist but then the fluid from my joint started leaking I of the joint because of that cushion being torn and that then blocked off nerves and my shoulders so I wasn't able to lift my arm like this at all and with an event like I do it every little thing like that matters so it needed to be needed to be taken out and fixed and everything cotton surgery she's I think with gymnastics and from anything you ever seen on documentaries athletes are constantly from with injuries and stuff of that and a very high pain threshold is that something that you've sort of seen the sport from what I've seen a lot of people like almost falling through injury so how they you know continue to compete yeah and you know that's something that some athletes have to do I'm not it's actually a shame because a good governing body and a good management team around you would be able to facilitate that but I have heard stories of people having to hide injuries to be selected onto the team because if there's any Deitz then they would select them you know so I'm very grateful that I've got good governor body and good management team around me that's if I say I'm a little bit injured here they'll be like okay well sure that I like and it's it so missing my hands to see whether or not compete or you know you know compete but people are in an unfortunate position where they didn't crab that choice yeah the both of you see just people's dreams as well you know um a little question that I have for you is well how important has it been training on the new Carson as well oh I wouldn't be where I am look I started with when I was 14 just when he started with me because he retired in 2014 from gymnastics and went straight into coaching and you know I I was currently training without a coach at the time so almost a no-brainer just to go to look and see how things went and from there like just skyrocketed sent that year after that that's when Tupper British Championships happens you know the following year I've won his first ever european championship medal next year even better and even better and even better and we're a boy and that's all because of the I think that's what a relationship would job would be like brothers or caught or so on in a way or yeah would have a very close relationship I say cousins might be a good one to describe it that's the way we always knew each other I I knew him when I was a young Jim nasty trained in the same gym and then he moved away the England to train for a bit but we always knew each other so we already had a bonds when I first went trien under his eye and then yeah he's just he's such a fun guys he's 30 you know I think so still pretty young and we've got that good relationship that's cool Arisa one thing I saw when you're younger you're representing northern I know you represent Ireland was there ever a motor decision whether when your company limpets whether you're gonna represent the UK or whether you're gonna represent Ireland I know with the Gulf another candidate oh man Rory McIlroy he had massive controversy over that you feel pressure from that or was an easy choice for you no it was a very easy choice the reason I went with Ireland was because gymnastics Ireland the governing body that's the gymnastics is under they always supported me from day one you know I was going to their national championships they they saw my talent very early and then you know they're doing big things I I love seeing you know governor board base in sports growing like that and seeing them doing everything possible so I wanted to be a part of that I wanted to be a part of them growing in a sense and bringing gymnastics to everybody else in the country so it didn't it didn't come to a decision where I was like okay should it go UK or Ireland I still compete for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games which is a great opportunity for me I love doing it and it it hits home a bit harder for for the people you know that I look around and everything but it's also great to go out there represent Ireland's represent gymnastics Ireland Sport Ireland and because I'm a product of what they've created in a sense and that's a very special thing to see Horsham in France it's one of those things were when the politics and the religious aspects come in between and no one said I mean people get very rather the opener cards Rory McIlroy was actually the officer because he was actually a product of golf Ireland and Baron the sale from the wallet but then when he he was Porsche on he's had the extra one to play for a very Britain at the time so it is one of those things where I mean until you actually hear from the horse's mouth in this case you don't know where people allegiance is really low you don't mean well other said it's great to hear that you know you rural true the Oratory value system and you're safe one with your existing but of course you also wanna represent Northern Ireland when you got to transfer out which a normal but yeah I mean everybody's got doing reasons I try to stay away from politics president I don't think it's gonna clear the sport I try to stay away from religion as well I because I'm not religious in a sense either so I the things I'm doing I'm doing for the you know the individual people the supporters in Ireland at the very it's a very evident thing when I went to World Championships last year you know there's Irish flags all around the arena and I was like I was walking to the competition and saw them Irish flags and I thought wow this is real like this the support from the Irish people is unbelievable and it matches no other country you know that I'm in I'm in Germany of World Championships and I'm the first-ever Irish Jim nice to make a final so even Irish people that were holding flags necessarily but they're just showing the support for the Irish and I absolutely love that also recently what's like training in sport Ireland as well having like all all the athletes there and also the former Olympians and soon-to-be Olympians as well yeah it's a special thing it's special thing training alongside them and it's good to kind of build a rapport with them because when to go out to the Olympic Games you don't want to be spending your time Austrian troops essentially so it is it's nice to to learn from their journey as well yeah I mean it it's very cool to train alongside them all is there anyone you look up to particularly I tried to get along with the boxers quite a lot I love box and I love that for just the whole sport that's my second favorite sport in gymnastics and you know when I talk to the boxers I can relate a lot with them I love their metal either they're jumping mindsets and that's something that I can take my training gym as well when I talk to them yeah and also with the Olympics coming up as well I saw that on the podium in the world champions last two but Matt Whitlock and also Li Jie coy those who are previous Olympic experience like in any way intimidate or does that jog you more to actually like be Bodrum next time around yeah no no it doesn't intimidate me eschewed I can perform under pressure situations the Commonwealth Games 2018 I beat marks fair and square you know we booked on our best routine and I came out on top so I thought that was when I was 18 I've had no Commonwealth Games experience I've had no experience you can compete in the final against him I don't think so i think that shocked the world when I've done that and then after that I then went and won European Championships so doctor shoes I wasn't a one-hit wonder as well I could perform even be in deemed is one of the best in the final will be best they're qualified first into the final and I came out on top so again that's another pressure situation that I was able to handle so I don't dive myself at all that way I love Risa and I know why she'd Olympics was the next scene to look forward to but now that that's being postponed what or where should people look out for you for your next event I mean it's a hard one to depend point there because it's a lot of the events of already well I mean all the events have been canceled this year essentially so I don't know when the next one's gonna be of course I'll try - I'll definitely try to be in competition for four Olympics because you need to keep that keep that going and keep the you know competition mode in there yeah exactly and that that's what I want to be doing so there could be one at the end of this year but that's it's not certain but I'll definitely be doing stuff for Olympic Games that's great Reece clanks me thanks man for coming on and we're really looking forward to seeing you in operation again it's gonna be fantastic roster been nothing so much Arisa 14 you complete and tons of seniors pizza farm just like well she incredible like just I always taught and gymnastic are the best I love meats in the world and boy they robbed me of all times actually a George st. Pierre I don't know if no he's a mixed martial artist yeah like he trains gymnastics all the time and he says like the battery and he's better than everyone and so like I was almost respect for to do arms you know you'll soon be deployed around I'm like a black educator when she went off won Olympic gold you mean like do that the worlds are always determine so just keep them very much yeah I really appreciate the support guys no worries everyone make sure to be following Reese on his journey to Olympic gold and make sure to LIKE subscribe and as always stay energized stay energized