New wave of gymnasts set to challenge traditional powers

From his back garden to the world championship podium, Rhys McClenaghan has come a long way.

McClenaghan became the first gymnast to represent Ireland in a world championship final on Saturday. Winning bronze on the pommel horse made him Ireland's first medalist.

He's part of a new wave of gymnasts from countries with little history in the sport now challenging the traditional powers. Growing up in Northern Ireland, where athletes can choose to represent either Britain or Ireland at the Olympics, gymnastics was a very niche choice.

Bronze medalist Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland celebrates after his performance on the pommel horse in the men's apparatus finals at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

"When I say I'm creating history, I don't mean it for myself. I mean it for the whole gymnastics nation in Ireland, and it's exciting," McClenaghan said. "Even when I was in school, when I say I'm a gymnast, it's unheard of. The first question is 'Why aren't you doing rugby?'"

On Monday, he secured an Olympic spot with his qualifying score.

"The future's big for me," he said. "I called up my mum as soon as I heard I was going to the Olympics and I cried like a baby, I really did. That was the childhood dream come true."

Bronze medalist Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland performs on the pommel horse in the men's apparatus finals at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

As a child, McClenaghan practiced on a pommel horse in his garden. He did that again last year when his local gym ended his coach's contract, though they stayed together and soon relocated to train in the Irish capital, Dublin.

It's not just Ireland. There's Turkey, the Philippines, Taiwan and Mexico too.

Around the world, gymnastics is taking hold in new countries ahead of next year's Olympics.

Gold medalist on the rings Ibrahim Colak of Turkey celebrates on the podium after the men's apparatus finals at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

There's the Philippines, celebrating its first world champion in Carlos Yulo in floor exercise. With gymnastics deep in the shadow of basketball in his country, Yula had to move to Japan to train.

He's hoping his gold medal will grow the sport back home. "Filipinos, they like basketball, but we're small," he joked, suggesting gymnastics was a better fit.

Taiwan and Israel both matched their best world championship showings with silver medals on Saturday. Turkey has gone from also-ran to medal contender thanks to the likes of Ibrahim Colak, who became the country's first world champion Saturday on rings.

Gold medalist Ibrahim Colak of Turkey celebrates after his performance in the men's rings exercise during the apparatus finals at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

"This is our history," Colak said. "Turkey is coming, just wait." Turkey could add more medals with two athletes in Sunday's parallel bars final.

The landscape is changing faster in the men's events than on the women's side, where traditional powers like the United States, Canada and Russia have a tighter hold on the podium.

Still, Belgium's Nina Derwael won her country's first world title last year on the uneven bars and retained it Saturday, while Mexico's Alexa Moreno made history with a bronze medal on the vault in 2018.

Nina Derwael of Belgium performs on the uneven bars to win a gold medal in the women's apparatus finals at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

Qualifying for the Olympics will be a big step for many of gymnastics' rising powers, but their athletes have shown their ambitions don't stop there.

Even in his country's first world championship final, McClenaghan thought he could have done better than bronze.

"I know where my standards are," he said. "I know that I could go out there and get the gold medal. Of course, I'm standing here with the first-ever Irish bronze medal around my neck. It's unbelievable."

Silver medalist Lee Chih-kai of Taiwan celebrates after his performamce on the pommel horse in the men's apparatus finals at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

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Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines, center and gold medal, Artem Dolgopyat of Israel, left and silver medal, and Xiao Ruoteng of China, right and bronze medal, show their medals during the award ceremony for the men's floor exercise during the apparatus finals at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

In the fitness class Jessie Syfko created for a nationwide gym chain, exercisers wear weighted vests that add a challenge to their workouts.

“People start to realize how good it feels to work just a little bit harder and a little bit smarter” without actually changing what they’re doing, said Syfko, senior vice president for Life Time gyms.

Weighted vests are increasingly showing up in fitness classes and on jogging tracks, touted by social media influencers as a way to keep bones healthy, improve performance and even accelerate weight loss. They are exactly what they sound like – vests that add resistance to the torso through pockets with removable weights.

But there's a lack of robust research on their benefits, experts say, so it's unclear how much of the hype is justified. And some people, such as seniors or those who are pregnant, should be cautious about using them.

When you think about how exercise works, the idea that a weighted vest will help you meet fitness goals like weight loss, muscle growth or preventing bone loss might make sense on the surface. Adding weight to the vest adds resistance to your everyday activities without changing up your patterns.

The vests may, in fact, offer benefits for healthy adults, experts say – although no one should expect transformative or instant results. Jeff Monaco, a certified strength coach who teaches medical fitness at the University of Texas at Austin, said while you may not lose a lot more calories during a weighted vest exercise, resistance from the vest may result in better sports performance over time.

“There are a lot of studies looking at (the weighted vest) from a speed perspective in different athletics, like soccer, with changing direction, agility and speed and so forth,” he said.

You’ll start to see those benefits by adding about 10% of your body weight to the vest, he said. If you weigh 150 pounds, for example, that would mean adding a total of 15 pounds to the vest.

But the research outside of sports isn’t as clear.

One 2020 study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina found that adults between 60 and 85 years old who wore weighted vests at times during the day when they were most active lost about the same amount of weight as those who didn’t wear them. They also lost the same amount of bone density, which happens as we age but can be slowed by building muscle.

Experts urge people to use weighted vests safely.

It’s best to start out by adding between five to 10 percent of your body weight. Wearing a vest that’s too heavy can put unnecessary strain on your joints, back and hips. That extra load can throw off your posture, lead to poor form or even result in stress fractures over time.

Some people should consult with a doctor before they throw on a vest, said Dr. Elizabeth Gardner, a team physician for athletes at Yale University. They include people who are pregnant, suffer from heart and breathing conditions or have back or neck injuries.

You'll have to use the muscles in your abdomen to use a weighted vest effectively, Gardner said, and this can be tougher for those already managing back pain.

Before starting to use a vest, Monaco said it's always helpful to get guidance from someone who has experience with them, “just to make sure that your movements are good, your form is good, that you have enough muscular upper body, muscular strength and endurance to support that during your movements.”

But as long as you use it correctly, he said, a weighted vest can be “a good tool to have in your toolbox.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2025, NOT 2024 - Nora Capocci wears a weighted vest during an MB360 workout class at the Life Time health club in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

CORRECTS YEAR TO 2025, NOT 2024 - Jannelliz Barragan, center, wears a weighted vest during an MB360 workout class at the Life Time health club in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Nora Capocci wears a weighted vest during an MB360 workout class at the Life Time health club in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Jannelliz Barragan, center, wears a weighted vest during an MB360 workout class at the Life Time health club in New York on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)