Rhys McClenaghan, from Ireland, during the final of the men's pommel horse at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
Rhys McClenaghan, an Irish gymnast, fell while competing on the pommel horse at Wednesday's Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
After receiving a low performance score, he was unable to make it to the finals.
After another gymnast had tested positive for COVID-19, he blamed his poor performance on the pommel horse being washed.
The failure of a top Irish gymnast to qualify for this week's Artistic Gymnastic World Championship finals was attributed to his performance on a slippery pommel-horse. He had been disqualified by COVID-19 testing, and the competitor before him had also failed the test.
Rhys McClenaghan won bronze for pommel horse in the 2019 World Championships. However, another gymnast was found to be positive for COVID-19, according to the Irish Times.
McClenaghan slipped after a 90-minute rest in which workers cleaned up the area.
According to the Irish Times, he ended up scoring 13,766 points. This places him 19th.
McClenaghan tweeted, "I regret I trained up to this point only to have the chalk wiped from the equipment and to be told to wait 1hour 30mins prior to I compete." "Dues to a competitor before testing positive for covid. It's time to go home. Let's hope this World isn’t the next.
McClenaghan reached the Tokyo Olympics finals earlier this year but fell and lost control of the pommel horse handles. McClenaghan placed seventh.
Insider has the original article.
