Megan Ryan

Megan Ryan
Nickname(s)Meg, Mugsy
Born (2002-04-03) 3 April 2002
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Country
represented
Ireland
ClubDouglas Gymnastics Club
Head coach(es)Emma Hamill
Medal record
Representing  Ireland
FIG World Cup
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Challenge Cup 0 1 0

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.

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]

Gymnastics 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

Competitive history of Megan Ryan at the junior level[21]
Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2016 Irish Championships
Junior European Championships 53
2017 Irish Championships
FIT Challenge 7 34
European Youth Olympic Festival 18
Northern European Championships 7 12 5
Competitive history of Megan Ryan at the senior level[21]
Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2019
European Championships 49
Irish Championships
Irish Super Championships
Mersin World Challenge Cup 8
World Championships 95
2021
Olympic Games 72

References

  1. ^ "Megan Ryan". Olympic Federation of Ireland. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Ryan Megan". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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.
  21. ^ a b "Megan Ryan". The Gymternet. Retrieved 24 July 2025.