McClenaghan and Montgomery advance in Croatia
McClenaghan and Montgomery advance in Croatia
Wed, August 19, 2026 at 8:53 PM UTC
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Olympic gold medallist Rhys McClenaghan and Ireland team-mate Eamon Montgomery are through to the apparatus finals at the European Championships in Croatia.
McClenaghan put in an impressive routine on Wednesday afternoon, hitting a score of 14.400 which was good enough for fifth in qualifying, with the top eight advancing into the final.
The Newtownards man missed out on a medal at the Commonwealth Games, but enjoyed a good start to his bid for a fourth European title.
Italy's Targhetta Gabriele led the way in qualifying with a score of 15.200, with Armedian pair Khachatryan Mamikon and Manukyan Hamlet second and third, while Latvia's Mickevics Dmitrijs came in fourth.
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"My fifth European final secured - looking forward to trying to improve on that score even more on Friday," McClenaghan posted on social media.
Belfast's Montgomery is through to his first European final thanks to his 14.033 score for sixth place on floor, 0.800 behind Dukhno Arsenii in first place.
James Hickey and Oisin O'Connell made their Euuropean senior debuts, while Adam Steele and Daniel Fox returned to international competition as Team Ireland finished 21st overall with a score of 226.496.
Both McClenaghan and Montgomery return for their final on Friday at 17:00 BST.
Source: “AOL Sports”
