Meet Rhys McClenaghan - Ireland's latest golden wonder

Rhys McClenaghan has become the country's third gold medal winner in what is turning out to be a hugely successful Olympic Games for Team Ireland.

His score of 15.533 (difficulty 6.600 and execution 8.933) in Saturday afternoon’s pommel horse final was enough to take first place ahead of the competitors from Kazakhstan and USA.

One could say it's a medal that’s been three years in the making.

The Newtownards man was Commonwealth Games and European Games champion going into the Olympic Games three years ago and medal hopes were high.

However, a barely noticeable mistake and subsequent fall from the apparatus early in his routine saw his chances dashed, eventually finishing in seventh place.

That he has come back to conquer his sport is a surprise to no one who saw his interview with RTÉ Sport moments after that slip-up in Japan.

"I know that I'll feel disappointment but that's OK," McClenaghan, then 22, said stoically.

"When I do feel disappointment that's when I'm more motivated.

"This is a very early chapter in my gymnastics career.

"It didn't go my way. One finger placement is all it took to knock me off the horse."

Similar to the successes of swimmer Daniel Wiffen and boxer Kellie Harrington, a nation expected in Paris.

And that expectation is something that has never weighed heavily on the Down man’s shoulders.

Confidence is certainly a virtue when you are spinning your body around the horse knowing one tiny mistake can end your chances.

He’s been honing his craft since the age of six with Rathgael GC in Bangor.

"He was a nightmare, if I'm honest, climbing trees, doing double somersaults on his trampoline," his mother Tracy told RTÉ Sport of his early promise.

"He was doing gymnastics before he went to gymnastics, that's why we