8 years ago, an injury almost ended Zachary Clay's gymnastics career. Now he's helped Canada make the Olympics

On Sunday, Canada's male gymnastics team qualified for the 2024 Olympics in Paris for the first time since 2008 — and B.C.'s Zachary Clay was instrumental in that feat.

The men's team needed a 12th-place finish at the artistic world championships qualifying round in Antwerp, Belgium. They finished fourth, with Gymnastics Canada saying Clay's performance on the pommel horse was pivotal.

For the 28-year-old — who was born in Langley and currently lives in Chilliwack — the qualification marks an achievement he has been working toward since he started gymnastics at the age of five.

Clay also had to overcome a devastating tear of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at a 2015 competition that threatened to end his career.

Now, as the oldest male gymnast on the team, he says he can't wait for the opportunity to compete on the Olympic stage in Paris.

"Almost every time when the Oympics [came up] in the past … we usually just kind of fell apart," he told CBC News. "We had injury after injury after injury.

"It's been tough in the past. But, you know, we've definitely learned from our mistakes and now we're here stronger than ever."

Clay, who trains in Abbotsford, has made seven world championship appearances in the past.

His specialty is the pommel horse, a padded wood-and-steel apparatus with a pair of handles (or pommels) attached. Gymnasts have to use continuous swinging and circular motions with their torso and legs, using only their hands for support.

He said seeing his team's faces after they realized they had qualified was the culmination of many years of hard work.

"Seeing these young guys, being able to capture this moment with me — it's been so surreal. It's been amazing," the athlete said with a smile from his hotel