THEY say that in order to be it, you have to see it.
For the students of Regent House School in Newtownards, there is no greater success story than that of hometown hero Rhys McClenaghan and on Monday afternoon the golden gymnast returned to his old stomping ground for the first time since becoming an Olympic champion at the Paris Games.
The 25 year-old, whose time at Regent began as a pupil in its preparatory department aged four, was greeted with a guard of honour when he called in at the Circular Road school as part of Team Ireland’s ‘Dare to Believe’ schools’ programme.
McClenaghan might be at the very height of his powers as the reigning world, European and now Olympic pommel horse champion. But instead of straight away lapping up the entrance reception that had been laid on by pupils and staff, on Monday he first elected to engage in conversation with a group of young students before allowing them to get up close and personal with his most cherished possession – the coveted Olympic gold medal.
Once on stage in the school assembly hall, McClenaghan shared his story with pupils, placing particular emphasis on the importance of setbacks. A question and answer session followed, before obliging in photo and autograph duties.
Having previously been based at Sports Ireland’s National Gymnastics Training Centre in Dublin, two years ago the ‘prince of the pommel’ made the Origin Gymnastics centre in the Ards Blair Mayne Leisure his new training base. McClenaghan has also since moved into a house in the town and those two decisions provide clear evidence that Newtownards is a place close to his heart.
Speaking to the Chronicle after the visit, he said: “I’m so thankful to my coach Luke Carson for opening up Origin Gymnastics, because it means that people in my hometown can look through a window and see me train, or train alongside me as many of the young gymnasts are doing, which is so special.
“To come back to Regent House and share my story with the teachers who watched me as a young gymnast before all of the achievements, but with all the younger kids too really brings it all home,” he added.
It’s almost eight months since McClenaghan achieved the greatest accolade of them all with his performance in the French capital, but he admitted wearing the tag of Olympic champion has yet to fully sink in.
“I’m still processing it all, it’s a bigger thing in my mind than I anticipated.
“It’s a big adjustment because that Olympic title was one of the goals I had been chasing my whole life, so to have it just done in one day is something that takes a long time to process.”
Nine weeks from now in Lepizig, Germany, the Ardsman will aim to add a fourth European crown to his collection.
“I’m just starting my competition programme for the European Championships and training is ramping up,” he explained.
“The rules of gymnastics change ever so slightly each Olympic cycle so I’m adjusting to those to make sure I put out world class performances each time.”
Away from the pommel, McClenaghan was recently crowned winner of television series Dancing with the Stars, alongside professional Laura Nolan.
“I had never planned to compete during this quarter of the year, so it was one of those things where I was like, ‘why not?’
“It was a new challenge outside of my comfort zone and I’m glad that I took it on,” he said.
“I loved it and have to thank everyone who watched me on the TV every Sunday night. The results are based off people voting, so it was something very different for me and I thank everybody who voted in Newtownards and across the whole island.”
McClenaghan wasn’t the only Olympian to make an appearance at Regent on Monday either. Hockey ace Peter McKibbin, also a past pupil at the school who represented Ireland at last summer’s Games, joined McClenaghan at the event as he told students ‘find something you enjoy doing, and just stick at it’.
The afternoon concluded with both athletes being shown connective plaques bearing their names in the school’s reception area.
