Co Down gymnast Rhys McClenaghan wants a guarantee that there will be no repeat of the saga that dogged his Commonwealth Games build-up.
McClenaghan, along with Northern Ireland team-mates Eamon Montgomery and Ewan McAteer, were initially barred by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) because they are licensed to compete for Ireland in international competition.
The ruling was eventually overturned and McClenaghan, who won gold in pommel horse on the Gold Coast in 2018, went on to win silver nine days ago in Birmingham.
Read more: NI boxers return home to heroes' welcome after Commonwealth success
"I don’t feel it impacted my performance in any way," he said yesterday, as the Ireland team gears up for the European Championships in Munich next week.
"It was certainly difficult in the lead-up to the competition. But training was training and I continued to train through the whole process.
"Outside of the gym I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me mentally - of course it was very challenging to have an opportunity like that taken away from you.
"I was also thinking not just for myself but for my two teammates undergoing this, and the younger generation.
"I grew up in the sport, seeing the Commonwealth Games, it’s one of the pinnacles of my sport.
"So it must have been very disheartening for the younger kids to see, they were probably thinking, ‘Will I not be going to the Commonwealth Games?’
"And I felt for them more than anything.
"At the same time I can breathe a sigh of relief now that that’s all behind us but there’s probably still a bit of work to be done in terms of not letting it happen again so the younger generation won't have any issues going.
"I think it was brought up in past Commonwealth Games but this time they really dug their heels in.
"I don’t know the full ins and outs of it, because I was trying to not give it too much attention, my job is to perform the routines.
"It was a strange one and a very unique situation."
Rhys McClenaghan of Team Northern Ireland competes in the Men's Pommel Horse Final on day four of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Arena Birmingham (Image: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
McClenaghan stayed on for a day in Birmingham cheering on team-mates before heading back to Abbotstown to training.
Having suffered the disappointment of failing to finish his routine at the Tokyo Olympics when his finger got caught on the pommel horse, McClenaghan had mixed emotions about coming home with the silver from Birmingham, reports the Irish Mirror.
"I was happy with the result but not with the routine, I know I can do much better," he stated.
"There were a few silly errors but staying on the pommel horse is one of the main things in the sport of gymnastics, staying on the apparatus and getting through the routine.
"I feel like the fact that I held on was the reason I came home with another medal and that’s part of the battle.
"But I’m not there just to win medals anymore, I’m going out to take titles consistently, at European, World and Commonwealth and Olympic level."
In Munich, the focus is on earning team results to qualify a team for the Worlds in Liverpool in November.
The top eight teams reach the European final and the top 13 make it to the Worlds.
"This is the first time you have to qualify, before this your national governing body just selected people but the FIG have changed it so teams have to qualify through their continental championships now," the 23-year-old explained.
"We’re up for the challenge."
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