McClenaghan finishes sixth in pommel horse final
Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan finished sixth in the men's pommel horse final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, missing out on a medal for the first time in the event after winning gold in 2018 and silver in 2022. The result ends a run of five consecutive major championship titles for the Northern Irishman, who had been expected to challenge for gold after qualifying third.
McClenaghan scored just 13.000 in the final, his lowest score of the year, after a shaky routine in which he nearly fell and saw both his difficulty (5.200) and execution (7.800) scores drop sharply from qualifying; an appeal to have the score reviewed was rejected. Canada's Jordan Carroll won gold with 15.00, Scotland's Reuben Ward took silver with 14.966, and fellow Scot Cameron Lynn claimed bronze with 13.833, while England's Adam Tobin finished eighth after falling during his routine.
- McClenaghan finishes sixth, missing a Commonwealth pommel horse medal
- Ends his run of five straight major championship gold medals
- Canada's Jordan Carroll wins gold; Scotland take silver and bronze
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Rhys McClenaghan is a Northern Irish gymnast who specialises in pommel horse, a gymnastics discipline performed on an apparatus with handles. He won Olympic gold in the event at the Tokyo Games, establishing himself as one of the world's premier competitors.
The Commonwealth Games brings together athletes from across the British Commonwealth nations. McClenaghan has dominated pommel horse at these Games, winning gold in 2018 and silver in 2022, and was riding a winning streak of five consecutive major championship titles when he arrived for the Glasgow Games.
McClenaghan's Olympic title and Commonwealth success made him a clear medal contender for the pommel horse final. He had qualified with a strong standard, positioning him among the favourites heading into the competition.