Megan Ryan | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Nickname(s) | Meg, Mugsy | |||||||||||||||||||
Country represented | Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||
Born | Cork, Ireland | 3 April 2002|||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||
Level | Senior International Elite | |||||||||||||||||||
Club | Douglas Gymnastics Club | |||||||||||||||||||
Head coach(es) | Emma Hamill | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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.
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]
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]
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]
Ryan received the Echo Women in Sport Award in 2019.[16] Gymnastics Ireland gave her the Rising Star award in 2017.[8]
Ryan studies pharmacy at University College Cork.[20]
Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Junior | |||||||
2016 | Irish Championships | ||||||
European Championships | 53 | ||||||
2017 | Irish Championships | ||||||
FIT Challenge | 7 | 34 | |||||
European Youth Olympic Festival | 18 | ||||||
Northern European Championships | 7 | 12 | 5 | ||||
Senior | |||||||
2019 | |||||||
European Championships | 49 | ||||||
Irish Championships | |||||||
Irish Super Championships | |||||||
Mersin World Challenge Cup | 8 | ||||||
World Championships | 95 | ||||||
2021 | |||||||
Olympic Games | 72 |