The spirit of the Games shown through brave Behan performance

Kieran Behan competed in the Men’s Qualification round at the Rio Olympic Games tonight.
He started off his Olympic campaign on the Pommel superbly, scoring a personal best on the apparatus before moving onto the Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, High Bar and finishing off on Floor, his speciality piece. The Tolworth & Carrigaline gymnast made a huge physical and mental effort to execute it to the best of his ability, which was clear for all watching to see. On the last piece of apparatus Kieran injured his knee but amazingly managed to finish his routine on the Floor and received a very respectable score of 14.333. Kieran’s total score of 83.323 fell short of the score required to qualify for the final but he can be very proud of a performance which pushed through the pain barrier tonight in Rio. In terms of his knee Kieran felt it pop during his floor routine and has since travelled back to the Olympic village with OCI physio Aidan Woods where he has been assessed & treated by OCI medics. Further assessments will be made in the morning.
 
Speaking after the competition, Kieran said: “Going into floor I felt very good, it’s my strongest apparatus and I knew what I could do… but it wasn’t to be… it’s just one of those things I guess. I just want to thank everyone back home and abroad for all their support and I'm very proud to have made history today! I would also like to thank my coach Simon & the OCI medical team for their support, I feel like I'm in good hands.”
 
Sally Filmer, Team Ireland Gymnastics Manager, said: "Kieran performed fantastically today. All his hard work and determination clearly showed in his performance. We await further news on his injury which occurred during his first tumble double double. It caused him only to pause momentarily before carrying on and completing his routine. This shows again Kieran's unbelievable bravery and determination."
 
Ciaran Gallagher, Gymnastics Ireland, CEO said: “Kieran Behan is now a two time Olympian, a feat few sportsmen or women achieve. His performance today was excellent and inspiring. He demonstrated the true spirit of an Olympian by battling through his last piece on floor, we currently await the results of a full OCI medical assessment of his knee. On behalf of all at Gymnastics Ireland I would like to congratulate Kieran, his coach Simon Gale and our Performance & Technical Manager Sally Filmer on their performance in Rio. We now look forward to Ellis competing tomorrow as Ireland's first female gymnast at an Olympic Games.”

Ellis O’Reilly will compete tomorrow at the women’s gymnastics qualifying round. She starts on the Floor at 1.45pm GMT