Our Lives: Rhys McClenaghan: Chasing Gold (BBC One Friday 9 June 2023)

Our Lives: Rhys McClenaghan: Chasing Gold airs Friday 9 June 2023 on BBC One

Rhys, a native of Newtownards, competes for Ireland and Northern Ireland at international competitions on the pommel horse, one of the most difficult apparatuses in gymnastics. He was the first Irish gymnast to make it to an Olympic final and has medaled at every major international competition. This includes the Commonwealth Games, European Championships, and World Championships. In this film, we accompany Rhys as he competes in the prestigious gymnastics competitions of 2022: the European Championships in Munich, the Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

We follow Rhys as he trains intensely for the Commonwealth Games, but an unexpected decision from the gymnastics governing body prevents him from competing for Northern Ireland. He was ineligible to play for Northern Ireland because he had already competed for Ireland at an international level. Athletes from Northern Ireland can choose to compete for either Northern Ireland or Ireland, but only after urgent political intervention and intense lobbying. The unexpected change of plans throws Rhys off and disrupts his ability to concentrate.

When Rhys competes in the Commonwealth Games, we’re there to capture the emotional moment when he performs a spectacular pommel horse routine and brings honour to his family. Will Rhys get a high enough score to win the gold medal? When Rhys’ parents, Danny and Tracy, talk about how they recognised and encouraged their son’s talent as a young child and how meeting Rhys’ current coach, Luke Carson, was a turning point when he was in his mid-teens, we get a glimpse into Rhys’ relentless training schedule and hear about the personal and physical sacrifices that come with being an elite athlete.

After just returning from the Commonwealth Games, Rhys resumed training for the European Championships, which will be held in Germany in August 2022. We get an up-close look at how he handles the intense pressure of competition, where all his hard work culminates in a routine that lasts less than one minute and where even a momentary lapse in focus could cost him the competition. Sport is notoriously unpredictable, as we see at the European Championships, and Rhys must pick up the pieces after a shocking loss.

The pressure is on Rhys like never before as he practises his pommel horse routine for the 2022 World Championships. When elite sports are involved, failure at this level can threaten future funding. Rhys, with the aid of his coach Luke, must work to fix the flaw in his routine so that his performance is flawless. We meet Jessie Barr, a sports psychologist, who explains how she works with Rhys to improve his mental toughness in order to lessen the effect of distractions on his game. In October, Rhys will travel to Liverpool to compete in the Gymnastics World Championships. This competition will be the most important of his career. After 2022’s ups and downs thus far, he’ll need to show his mettle on the international stage and overcome whatever is holding him back. In a tense climax shot in front of a sold-out Liverpool Arena crowd, we watch as Rhys prepares to compete on the pommel horse against the best gymnasts in the world and realise his lifelong goal of winning a world championship.

Season 7 Episode 2

Our Lives is a collection of programmes celebrating the diversity of our society.

Our Lives: Rhys McClenaghan: Chasing Gold airs Friday 9 June 2023 at 19:30 on BBC One

Featured image credit: BBC One

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