Rhys McClenaghan celebrated his return to competition with a little jig. The 27-year-old gymnast from Northern Ireland, who missed all of 2025 recovering from shoulder surgery, topped qualifying at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Saturday with a score of 14.500 on the pommel horse.
McClenaghan, an Olympic champion, showed off a brand-new routine at the Emirates Arena and impressed everyone watching. He earned the highest difficulty score of 5.500 and the highest execution score of 9.000 among all competitors so far.
"All eyes were on McClenaghan and he delivered," the commentary noted. After stepping off the apparatus, he broke into a celebratory dance that showed just how much the moment meant to him.
The result puts McClenaghan well ahead of his closest rivals heading into Monday's final. His place won't be officially confirmed until after the third subdivision of qualifying finishes, but he already has a comfortable lead.
This performance carries extra weight because McClenaghan had been sidelined for an entire year. Shoulder surgery kept him away from competition throughout 2025, making his return to the top of the leaderboard even more remarkable.
McClenaghan is chasing his third Commonwealth Games medal. He won gold on the pommel horse in 2018 on the Gold Coast and took silver at Birmingham in 2022. A gold medal in Glasgow would complete his collection.
Gymnastics fans will have to wait until Monday to see if McClenaghan can finish what he started, but Saturday's qualifying round suggested the Olympic champion is back to his best.