Ireland’s top gymnasts showed encouraging form ahead of the World Championships with an unprecedented haul of 11 medals at the Northern European Championships, held at the University of Limerick over the weekend.
Their impressive tally included men’s team gold and women’s team silver, their best ever collective results at this level, and Olympian Kieran Behan led the way.
Behan won silver in the all-round competition and added a floor gold and rings silver in yesterday’s individual apparatus finals.
Rising star Ellis O’Reilly (17) was runner-up in the women’s all-round competition and picked up another silver in the individual beam final.
Cork-based Andrew Smith was just pipped for gold on the parallel bars yesterday after finishing third in the men’s all-round.
Ulster teenagers Rhys McClenaghan and Casey Bell both won bronzes in pommel and uneven bars respectively and were also fourth in other individual finals.
Next month’s World Championships is the first qualifying event for the Rio Olympics.
