We should be back with two golds: Rhys
NORTHERN Ireland’s Commonwealth Games stars lapped up a heroes’ welcome in Belfast yesterday after they returned from the Gold Coast.
The squad arrived home with a haul of 12 medals, their best tally in a Games held outside of the UK, led by their only gold medal winner, gymnast Rhys McClenaghan.
Having completed their mammoth round-trip from Australia, the athletes were met by friends and family at the Dub on the Malone Road.
But McClenaghan believed there should have been another gold returning with the team with boxer Michaela Walsh, who was controversially denied the top prize.
“I saw her fight and she definitely deserved that gold medal,” McClenaghan said.
Gymnast McClenaghan added: “It’s such a nice welcome, I couldn’t be more proud to be Northern Irish.”
Meanwhile, another of Northern Ireland’s medallists, sprinter Leon Reid, will likely have to wait until July to find out if he can represent Ireland.
The 23-year-old brought home bronze in the 200m on the Gold Coast, but his application to switch allegiance from Great Britain to Ireland may be put on hold until the IAAF settle their international transfer debate.
The governing body suspended all transfers last year in order to review the process after it was recommended there be a “minimum three-year waiting period before an athlete may transfer to represent another member”.
The decision was also made due to the number of African athletes changing their allegiances to countries such as Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey.
Reid wants to switch to represent Ireland in honour of his late mother, who was from Belfast, while his adopted mother is from County Wexford, meaning he has very strong and current ties in Ireland.
The sprinter is based in Bath and hasn’t represented Britain since the European Under-23 Championships in 2015.
That means if the IAAF agree his three-year transition period started after that event then he would be eligible to represent Ireland in August’s European Championships in Berlin.
Last July, Reid wrote an open letter to IAAF president Lord Sebastian Coe in an attempt to try and represent Ireland at the World Championships, however that plea was rejected.