91�ȱ�

Rhys McClenaghan claimed Ireland's first World Gymnastics Championship medal by finishing third in Saturday's pommel horse event in Stuttgart.

The 20-year-old from Newtownards in Co Down finished just 0.1 of a point behind Britain's Max Whitlock who won the title for a third time.

Whitlock had a winning margin of 0.067 points over the silver medallist Lee Chih-Kai of Taiwan.

McClenaghan is the reigning European and Commonwealth champion.

His qualifying score of 15.200, second only to Whitlock, secured a spot for the Irish gymnast at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

In 2018, McClenaghan fell off the pommel horse at the World Championships with a shoulder injury that kept him out of action for six months.

"It feels pretty amazing," said McClenaghan after collecting his bronze medal.

"That was a tough final, it was the best pommel final that I've ever seen and it was a privilege to be in.

"It phenomenal to be standing with a medal around my neck at the World Championships, and to be going to the Olympic Games is something special."