Watch: Rhys McClenaghan wins World bronze medal with stunning pommel horse performance in Stuttgart

Ireland's Rhys Mcclenaghan reacts after his performance to win bronze at the World Championships.

Ireland's Rhys Mcclenaghan performs at the pommel horse during the apparatus finals at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on October 12, 2019. (Photo by Thomas KIENZLE / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP via Getty Images)

Ireland's Rhys Mcclenaghan reacts after performing on the pommel horse during the apparatus finals at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on October 12, 2019. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)

October 12 2019 17:22 PM

Rhys McClenaghan has won a bronze medal at the World Championships after an impressive performance in Stuttgart.

The Newtownards man won the Commonwealth and European golds last year and has been targeting a podium finish at the top level, which he achieved on Saturday afternoon.

British gymnast Max Whitlock won his third gold medal with a score of 15.500, with Chih-Kai Lee of Chinese Taipei in second on 14.433 and McClenaghan close behind on 15.400.

McCleanghan scored 9.000 on execution, the highest of any of the nine finalists, temporarily moved him into second although Lee's routine, with 0.1 higher difficulty points than McClenaghan's proved the difference in securing silver.

The 20-year-old had already won a spot in the Olympic Games in Tokyo next season when he became the first Irish gymnast to ever qualify for the world final and can now look ahead to mixing it with Whitlock and the rest of the world's best once again next summer.

Watch Rhys' stunning World Championship final performance:

Rhys McClenaghan 🤸🏻‍♂️ has won Bronze at the World Gymnastics Championships Pommell Horse Final. Huge feat to win Ireland’s first ever World medal in the sport 🏅big day too for @GymnasticsIre Would love an expert to show me where he lost a full point on execution 🤷🏼‍♀️🤸🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/b5syWdyUMD
— Evanne Ní Chuilinn (@EvanneNiC) October 12, 2019

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