Gymnastics: McClenaghan has Olympic gold in his sights
He won the World Championship on the Pommel in Liverpool recently
Rhys McClenaghan is eyeing up an Olympic title after winning the World Championships.
The 23-year-old became Ireland's first ever Gymnastics world champion following his won in Liverpool last week.
Having already tasted gold at European and Commonwealth level, he now wants to go one better and complete the quarter - with Paris 2024 firmly in his sights.
He described how he felt when it was announced he'd won the Worlds.
"The word to describe it is 'relief'. I've worked all of my life for this moment and to hear my name announced as world champion was just a culmination of all that work," he admitted.
After a disappointing Commonwealth Games - which was preceded by his initial exclusion from the Birmingham event - he felt confident going into Liverpool with a new routine.
"I knew that routine was working. It fills you with confidence.
"I just knew I had to do it one more time under the most serious of pressure and I did just that."
While he's looking ahead to what he can do next, McClenaghan wants to cherish his world title before moving forward with the next step in his career.
"The initial reaction is that you're overwhelmed," he adds.
"Now, it's starting to sink in a little bit more and I'm starting to think of the next goals. But I'm trying not to think of that too much right now. I want to preserve this moment.
Now, at such a young age, he still has at least another two Olympic Games on the horizon.
He doesn't shy away from winning the ultimate - that Olympic gold medal.
"I make that target very clear for myself and I'm not afraid to speak it out loud, because I know I have the capabilities to do it," he feels.
"It's exciting and I've set down the gauntlet for all the other gymnasts now."
But before all that, he's giving himself va bit of downtime before Christmas to enjoy the fruits of his labour.
"There's no competition season as such in gymnastics, we just compete whenever the competitions are on and this year it's just happened that it's been running from January until now.
"So I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family, seeing my friends for oncem eating some pizza and enjoying a pint!" he smiles.