AFTER the nightmare of Tokyo, this was the moment Rhys McClenaghan has been dreaming of.
Ever since coach Luke Carson sat down with a 15-year-old McClenaghan and his parents, Danny and Tracey, this was the end goal. All he asked of them all was they believed as much as he did.
“If couldn’t get them on board, it just wasn’t possible,” said Carson, “because otherwise it’s just a crazy guy saying things.”
Three years on from Tokyo, when McClenaghan’s Olympic dreams went up in smoke after a slip of the fingers inside 10 seconds, it appears destined that their decade-long plan would be realised in Paris.
This time, there would be no mistakes, and no regrets. Whether he won gold, medalled or came home with nothing at all, so be it. If he gave his best possible performance and was beaten by the better man, he could live with that.
But, from the moment McClenaghan walked into a packed Bercy Arena, he was tuned into another world, determined not to absorb any of the emotion still flying around moments after US superstar Simone Biles had claimed a third gold of the Games.
Fourth on the pommel, he either looked the other way or turned his back on opponents’ routines; not looking at them, not looking at their score. This was about him and no-one else.
Nariman Kurbanov from Kazakhstan was first up, hitting an impressive 15.434. It was a standard defending champion Max Whitlock was unable to reach as his dreams of hanging on to gold disappeared in that instant.
When McClenaghan’s turn came, a hush fell upon the arena. Even with all he has achieved in the time between, the two World golds in particular, you wondered was there anything left of Tokyo that might creep in when the pressure reached its peak.
There wasn’t. He promised to raise his game again from last week’s heat, and he did so in some style to he score 15.533 (difficulty 6.600, execution 8.933), up from 15.200 in qualifying.
The second his feet touched the matt upon dismount, it all came out; a huge roar lost in the applause of the crowd as he grabbed the lead at the halfway mark, tears already flowing by the time he reached his chair.
“No matter what happened after that, I had done my job…”
The rest was pure tension and drama it what is now considered the highest quality pommel horse final of all time. American Stephen Nedoroscik produced a magical routine and, Irish stomachs churning as the familiar sound of a pulse filled the arena during the interminable wait for a score to materialise.
And then it came - 15.300. One of the men expected to give McClenaghan the biggest run for his money has just fallen short. The dream was now in sight as, one by one, each challenger failed to hit his incredible height.
“I literally dreamed it,” he beamed, “I literally dreamed that I scored a 15.5, but I never dreamed that I won, which is weird.
“I’m not one to look into dreams like that, I just think it has been part of this plan, part of what we’ve been aiming for for so many years since I started training with Luke. That’s 10 years ago, and when I started with him, there was a 10-year plan to win an Olympic gold medal, and here it is today.”
Tokyo had taken a toll, there’s no question. McClenaghan tried to play it down after his heat, having a nip at journalists for referring back to that fateful day three summers ago.
“I’ve done a lot of competitions that you guys didn’t even watch in between that…”
But Carson described that Olympic experience as “traumatic” for gymnast and coach. To come back to the same stage, with the huge weight of expectation that winning world titles brings, requires incredible self-belief, and maybe a little bit more.
“It shows I’ve got balls anyway.
“There was certainly added pressure today, but I put pressure on myself every single day in training and there was one session - Tuesday this week - I split my legs on the upgraded skill that I put in the routine and I was raging with myself. I was angry.
“It felt like it was a competition but at the same time when I do clean routines, I get as pumped as I feel during competitions. And that comes from that pressure I put on myself - I get nervous in training sessions and I feel like because of that respect that I give each training session, that’s why I can perform in competition environments like today.” Last week, McClenaghan said he was sitting on the top of the mountain, enjoying the view. If that was the case, then his head must now surely be in the clouds, though pizza and a few beers were the only things on his agenda as Saturday evening turned into night.
Yet, even in the most manic of moments, he speaks with the composure and clarity of a little Buddha.
Because this gold medal, for as much as it represented the high point of a breathtaking personal journey, is also a platform to promote the sport he loves, and to show the next generation that anything is possible.
Even if, at some points, there is no choice but to get back on the horse.
“The view is really, really nice right now. That view consists of seeing my younger self having these dreams, seeing me enjoying the journey, seeing a bunch of kids inspired by this Olympic gold medal.
“Even if I didn’t come away with that, I still would’ve had that goal of trying to inspire as many as possible. I want to do as much for this sport as I can.
“After this medal I want to bring it to hopefully every club in Ireland, I want to be really active in inspiring that younger generation, because this is a responsibility on my shoulders.
“I could lock my door and stay away, not talk to anybody for the next year or two, but I’m not going to do that, I’m going to be out, I’m going to be inspiring hopefully, and I want as many kids as possible to touch this medal and see that it’s a reality as much as possible.”
