Rhys McClenaghan to miss Worlds after shoulder surgery
The County Down man, who made history by winning Ireland's first Olympic gymnastics gold in Paris last year, said that his sights were already firmly on retaining his medal at the LA Games in 2028.
"I'm disappointed to miss this year's World Championships, but my priority is to maintain my place as the best in the world on pommel horse," McClenaghan said.
"My goal is not only to retain my Olympic title in LA 2028 but to continue striving for gold in every major competition. This surgery was necessary to ensure I can perform at the highest level for years to come.
"Setbacks are part of elite sport, but my mindset is about turning challenges - as I have done before - into opportunities to raise my performance."
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Irish Independent
6 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Another Irish medal at World University Games as ‘delighted' Nicola Tuthill takes silver in hammer
It's the second major medal in 10 days for the 21-year-old UCD student, who also won silver at the European U-23 Championships in Bergen, Norway. The final was dominated by China's Zhao Jie, who threw 72.80m to take gold, while Tuthill was over two metres clear of the bronze medallist, Sara Killinen of Finland (67.80m). 'I'm delighted, it's my first medal on a world stage and to come off silver last week and get another one here is pretty special,' said Tuthill, who had struggled early in the final, with two throws of 66 metres and a foul. 'It was a really stressful competition, to be honest. My first throws were some of the worst I had all year. Other than qualifying, my last five competitions have all been over 70 metres so it was bugging me a bit that I wasn't getting up there.' However, Tuthill improved her best mark in each of the three rounds that followed, throwing 67.80m, 68.46 and finishing with 69.98m. Her Irish U-23 record is the 71.71m she threw in Finland last month. Coupled with Kate O'Connor's heptathlon gold, it rounds out another strong championships for the Irish, with Tuthill the first field eventer to win a medal at the event since Eileen O'Keefe in 2007, who also won silver in the hammer. 'There's a lot of hours spent training and my coach Killian [Barry] was there, my parents are there, and there are so many people, like my sponsors at home, who helped me get here,' said Tuthill. 'It meant a lot to get it.' She will now turn her attention to September's World Championships in Tokyo and while Tuthill has not hit the automatic qualifying standard of 74.00m, she will secure a spot via her world ranking, currently sitting 22nd in the quota with 36 places available. Elsewhere, Laura Nicholson finished eighth in the women's 1500m final, clocking 4:22.32, while Ava O'Connor came home ninth in the 3000m steeplechase in 9:51.07. Oisín Lane finished 11th in the 20km race walk, clocking a personal best of 1:23.06.
Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Silver for Nicola Tuthill at World University Games
Nicola Tuthill has won a silver medal for Ireland at the World University Games in Bochum, Germany, the Cork thrower finishing runner-up in the women's hammer on Sunday afternoon with a best of 69.98m. It's the second major medal in 10 days for the 21-year-old UCD student, who also won silver at the European U-23 Championships in Bergen, Norway. The final was dominated by China's Zhao Jie, who threw 72.80m to take gold, while Tuthill was over two metres clear of the bronze medallist, Sara Killinen of Finland (67.80m). 'I'm delighted, it's my first medal on a world stage and to come off silver last week and get another one here is pretty special,' said Tuthill, who had struggled early in the final, with two throws of 66 metres and a foul. 'It was a really stressful competition, to be honest. My first throws were some of the worst I had all year. Other than qualifying, my last five competitions have all been over 70 metres so it was bugging me a bit that I wasn't getting up there.' However, Tuthill improved her best mark in each of the three rounds that followed, throwing 67.80m, 68.46 and finishing with 69.98m. Her Irish U-23 record is the 71.71m she threw in Finland last month. Coupled with Kate O'Connor's heptathlon gold, it rounds out another strong championships for the Irish, with Tuthill the first field eventer to win a medal at the event since Eileen O'Keefe in 2007, who also won silver in the hammer. 'There's a lot of hours spent training and my coach Killian [Barry] was there, my parents are there, and there are so many people, like my sponsors at home, who helped me get here,' said Tuthill. 'It meant a lot to get it.' She will now turn her attention to September's World Championships in Tokyo and while Tuthill has not hit the automatic qualifying standard of 74.00m, she will secure a spot via her world ranking, currently sitting 22nd in the quota with 36 places available. Elsewhere, Laura Nicholson finished eighth in the women's 1500m final, clocking 4:22.32, while Ava O'Connor came home ninth in the 3000m steeplechase in 9:51.07. Oisín Lane finished 11th in the 20km race walk, clocking a personal best of 1:23.06.
The 42
7 hours ago
- The 42
Walshe reaches 200m Individual Medley semi-finals at World Aquatic Championships
ELLEN WALSHE HAS booked her place in the semi-finals of the 200m Individual Medley at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore. Ranked 18th ahead of the race, Walshe impressed to claim fourth in her heat in a time of 2:11.45, which is the fifth-fastest time of her career. She progresses to this afternoon's final at 1pm Irish time in 10th place overall. Ellie McCartney made her World Championships (LC) debut in the same event, clocking the second-fastest time of her career in 2:13.86. The National Centre Limerick swimmer will return to the pool on Thursday in the 200m Breaststroke. 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 | 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 Catch Ellen Walshe in action in the 200m Individual Medley Semi-Final at the World Aquatics Championships. All the links you need 👉 — Swim Ireland (@swimireland) July 27, 2025 Meanwhile, Daniel Wiffen swam 3:47.57 to open his World Championships in the 400m Freestyle. 'I was pretty disappointed with the overall time,' Wiffen said after his race. 'I didn't follow the race plan I was meant to go. Honestly though I'm happy, it's a warm-up for my main events later in the week, I'm looking forward to the 800m in the next two days.' Wiffen added that he had appendicitis in June but that he has made a full recovery. Advertisement 'So I had appendicitis about five weeks ago, obviously I'm hopefully fully covered at this point, I'm not letting it affect me at this World Championships, I'm here to race and race fast.' The Olympic Champion in the 800m Freestyle returns to the pool for that event on Tuesday morning, where he will be first looking to secure a top eight finish in the heats, and advance to the final on Wednesday. Eoin Corby swam a season's best of 1:00.63 in the 100m Breaststroke heats. He will return for the 200m Breaststroke, his main event, on Thursday. Shane Ryan opened his Championships in the 50m Butterfly preliminary where he finished in 23.46. Ryan returns to the pool on Friday for the 50m Freestyle. The World Aquatics Masters Championships took place in Singapore over the weekend, where Ireland claimed three medals. Cork Masters' Jane Jolly defended her 2024 World Title in the Women's 3K 70-74 Age Group, winning gold in 1:10.38. In the 60-64 Age Group, Ennis Masters' Norma Cahill took silver in 51.26. There was also silver for Ireland in the Men's 3K Aer Lingus Masters where Boyd Freeman claimed silver in the 60-64 Age Group in 49.16. The pool element of the Masters Championships will start on 7 August, with over 40 Irish Masters swimmers set to compete. World Aquatics Day 1 Heats Sunday 27 July Women 200m Individual Medley Ellen Walshe – 2:11.45 (10th) Q/SF Ellie McCartney – 2:13.86 (25th) Men 400m Freestyle Daniel Wiffen – 3:47.57 (16th) Men 50m Butterfly Shane Ryan – 23.46 (28th) Men 100m Breaststroke Eoin Corby – 1:00.63 (21st) Day 1 Finals Schedule Sunday 27 July Women 200m Individual Medley SF Ellen Walshe – 1pm (IRL)
