Megan Ryan

Last updated

Megan Ryan
Nickname(s)Meg, Mugsy
Born (2002-04-03) 3 April 2002 (age 22)
Cork, Ireland
Gymnastics career
Discipline Women's artistic gymnastics
Country representedFlag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
ClubDouglas Gymnastics Club
Head coach(es)Emma Hamill
Medal record
Representing Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
FIG World Cup
Event1st2nd3rd
World Challenge Cup010

Megan "Meg" Ryan (born 3 April 2002) [1] is an Irish artistic gymnast who competed at the 2020 Olympic Games. She was the first Irish female gymnast to win a medal on the FIG World Cup series.

Contents

Early life

Ryan was born on 3 April 2002 in Cork. She began gymnastics at age five after watching her older sister Hayley train. [2] She also played Gaelic football before she decided to concentrate on gymnastics. [3]

Career

Junior

Ryan won the gold medal on every event at the 2016 Irish Championships, except for the uneven bars where she won the silver medal. [4] She made her international debut at the European Championships where she finished 53rd in the all-around during the qualification round. [5] In 2017, Ryan once again won the junior all-around at the Irish Championships. [6] Then at the FIT Challenge, she finished seventh with the junior Irish team. [7] She then competed at the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival and was chosen to be Ireland's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. [8] The team of Ryan, Jane Heffernan, and Emma Slevin finished 18th in the team competition. [9] At the Northern European Championships, she finished 12th in the all-around final and fifth in the vault final. [10]

Senior

Ryan became age-eligible for senior competition in 2018. However, she missed the entire 2018 season after having surgery to remove an extra bone in her ankle. [2]

Ryan competed at the 2019 European Championships where she finished 49th in the all-around during the qualification round. [11] She then won the gold medal in the all-around at the senior Irish Championships. [12] She only competed on the balance beam at the Irish Super Championships, and she won the gold medal. [13] At the Mersin World Challenge Cup, she won the silver medal on the uneven bars behind Nazli Savranbasi. This was Ireland's first medal at the women's FIG World Cup. [3] [14] She then competed at the 2019 World Championships where she finished 95th in the all-around in the qualification round. [15] Due to this result, she was initially the first reserve for the Olympic Games. [16] However, after North Korea withdrew from the Olympics, Ryan received the spot that initially went to Kim Su-jong. [17]

At the 2021 European Championships, Ryan decided to only compete on the uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise in order to build up towards the Olympic Games. [18] She did not qualify for any of the event finals. At the Olympic Games, Ryan finished 72nd in the all-around during the qualification round with a total score of 47.199. [19]

Awards

Ryan received the Echo Women in Sport Award in 2019. [16] Gymnastics Ireland gave her the Rising Star award in 2017. [8]

Personal life

Ryan studies pharmacy at University College Cork. [20]

Competitive history

YearEventTeamAA VT UB BB FX
Junior
2016 Irish ChampionshipsGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svg
European Championships 53
2017 Irish ChampionshipsGold medal icon.svg
FIT Challenge734
European Youth Olympic Festival 18
Northern European Championships 7125
Senior
2019
European Championships 49
Irish ChampionshipsGold medal icon.svg
Irish Super ChampionshipsGold medal icon.svg
Mersin World Challenge Cup 8Silver medal icon.svg
World Championships 95
2021
Olympic Games 72

References

  1. ↑ "Megan Ryan". Olympic Federation of Ireland . Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Ryan Megan". International Gymnastics Federation . Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 Dennehy, Cathal (4 October 2019). "Irish teenage trio ready to make mark at World Gymnastics Championships". RTÉ. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (15 May 2016). "2016 Irish Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "31st European Championships in Women's Artistic Gymnastics Seniors and Juniors Junior Qualifications" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (14 May 2017). "2017 Irish Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  7. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (13 June 2017). "2017 FIT Challenge Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Tokyo 2020 - Get to know Meg Ryan". Gymnastics Ireland . 9 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (27 July 2017). "2017 European Youth Olympic Festival Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  10. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (21 October 2017). "2017 Northern European Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "8th European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics Individual Championships Women Artistic Gymnastics Qualification Individual Seniors" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  12. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (6 June 2019). "2019 Irish Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "2019 Irish Super Championships Results". The Gymternet. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "Meg & Jane deliver first Women's World Cup podium finish for Ireland". Gymnastics Ireland . 2 September 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  15. ↑ "49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Stuttgart (GER), 4 October - 13 October 2019 Women's All-Around Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  16. 1 2 Noonan, Rory (18 April 2021). "Meg Ryan balances study and gymnastics with Olympics on the horizon". Echo Live. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  17. ↑ Kim, Tong-hyung (6 April 2021). "North Korea says it won't participate in Tokyo Olympics". Associated Press . Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Slattery, Joel (21 April 2021). "Gymnastics: Emma Slevin makes history by securing spot in European final". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "Artistic Gymnastics Women's All-Around Qualification" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . Tokyo 2020. 25 July 2021. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  20. ↑ "Douglas gymnast Meg Ryan on her amazing experience at the Olympics". Echo Live. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
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