The parents of Olympic medalist Rhys McClenghan have said it was a lifetime of sacrifices and dedication which led him to gold, as they spoke about their son’s success in Paris.
Speaking to RTE shortly after their son became Ireland’s first gold medalist in gymnastics, Tracy and Danny McClenghan praised their son’s hard-work.
“It feels a bit surreal to be honest with you,” said Rhys’ mother Tracy, “I knew this day would come some time, but I just can’t believe it honestly.
“We’re just over the moon for him. There is so much hard work that has gone into this. People often say it’s four years of hard work to get to the Olympics, but Rhys has been working towards this since he was 8.
“It has been a lifetime of dedication from him and sacrifice just to get to this one moment, and we couldn’t be happier for him.
“I’ll enjoy watching it back because I’m not even sure I watched some of it. I still haven’t watched the Tokyo one, but I will watch this one over and over again!”
His father, Danny, could also barely speak when asked by the broadcaster about his son’s gold medal.
“I just feel amazing, I can’t believe he has done it. But at the same time I think to myself ‘oh, of course he is a gold medalist. Because that’s the way he is, he’s fantastic,” he said.
The pair were also seen wearing t-shirts with their son’s face on them as they supported him from the French capital.