Zachary Clay (born July 5, 1995) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. He is the 2017 Pan American and 2023 Pan American Games champion on pommel horse. He represented Canada at the 2024 Olympic Games.
| Zachary Clay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Zachary Clay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 5, 1995 Langley, British Columbia, Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Chilliwack, British Columbia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 2011–present (CAN) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Twisters Gymnastics Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Richard Ikeda | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gymnastics career
edit2014–15
editClay helped Canada win the bronze medal in the team final at the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland.[1]
In 2015 Clay tore his ACL and fractured his tibia during a competition.[2]
2017–19
editClay competed at the 2017 Pan American Championships. He won gold on pommel horse, earning his first major international title.[3] He later competed at the World Championships where he placed 21st in the all-around.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games Clay helped Canada finish second as a team. Individually he won the bronze medal on pommel horse behind Rhys McClenaghan and Max Whitlock.[4] In September Clay competed at the 2018 Pan American Championships where he helped Canada finish fifth as a team. The following month he competed at the World Championships where he helped Canada finish 18th during qualifications.
Clay represented Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru. He helped Canada win the bronze medal in the team final. Individually he placed sixth during the pommel horse final.[5]
2022
editClay competed at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup in Stuttgart. During the team challenge he helped Canada finish fifth as a team. At the 2022 World Championships Clay helped the Canadian team finish tenth during qualifications. He did not qualify for any individual finals.[6]
2023
editClay competed at the 2023 Pan American Championships where he helped Canada win the silver medal.[7]
In October Clay competed at the 2023 World Championships alongside René Cournoyer, Félix Dolci, William Emard, and Jayson Rampersad. During qualifications he helped Canada finish fourth, which qualified Canada a team berth to the 2024 Olympic Games, a feat last achieved by the Canadian men's gymnastics team in 2008.[8] During the team final Clay contributed a score on pommel horse towards Canada's seventh-place finish.
Clay next competed at the Pan American Games. On the first day of competition he helped the Canadian team win the silver medal behind the United States.[9] Individually he qualified to the pommel horse final. On the first day of event finals Clay won gold on pommel horse ahead of compatriot Rampersad.[10] In doing so, Clay became the first Canadian to win gold on pommel horse at the Pan American Games.[3]
2024
editIn late June Clay was named to the team to represent Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics alongside René Cournoyer, Félix Dolci, William Émard, and Samuel Zakutney.[11] While there he helped Canada finish eighth as a team.[12]
Competitive history
edit| Year | Event | Team | AA | FX | PH | SR | VT | PB | HB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | |||||||||
| 2011 | Commonwealth Youth Games |  |
7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Senior | |||||||||
| 2014 | Elite Canada |  |
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| Canadian Championships | |
|
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| Commonwealth Games |  |
8 | |||||||
| World Championships | 14 | ||||||||
| 2015 | Elite Canada | |
4 | ||||||
| World Championships | 15 | ||||||||
| 2017 | Canadian Championships | |
|
|
|
4 |
| ||
| Pan American Championships | |
6 | 6 | ||||||
| World Championships | 21 | ||||||||
| 2018 | Elite Canada | 5 | 8 | ||||||
| UCIC Calgary | |
|
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| Commonwealth Games | |
|
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| Canadian Championships | 5 | |
8 | 8 | |||||
| Guimarães Challenge Cup | 5 | ||||||||
| Pan American Championships | 5 | 7 | |||||||
| World Championships | 18 | ||||||||
| Toyota International | 4 | 6 | |||||||
| 2019 | Elite Canada | |
7 | |
6 | 5 | |||
| UCIC Calgary | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | |||||
| Canadian Championships | 4 | |
6 | |
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| Pan American Games | |
6 | |||||||
| 2021 | Koper Challenge Cup | 4 | |||||||
| World Championships | 19 | 44 | |||||||
| 2022 | DTB Pokal Team Challenge | 5 | 6 | ||||||
| DTB Pokal Mixed Cup | 4 | ||||||||
| Paris Challenge Cup | 4 | ||||||||
| World Championships | 10 | ||||||||
| 2023 | Elite Canada | |
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| Pan American Championships | |
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| RomGym Trophy | |
|
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| World Championships | 7 | ||||||||
| Pan American Games | |
|
5 | ||||||
| 2024 | Elite Canada | 5 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| |
| DTB Pokal Team Challenge | 11 | ||||||||
| Pacific Rim Championships | |
|
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| Canadian Championships | 7 | 11 | |
7 | 14 | 7 | |||
| RomGym Trophy | 4 | ||||||||
| Olympic Games | 8 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Gymnastics Results Book" (PDF). 2014 Commonwealth Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ "8 years ago, an injury almost ended Zachary Clay's gymnastics career. Now he's helped Canada make the Olympics". CBC News. October 2, 2023.
- ^ a b "Fraser Valley's Zachary Clay becomes first Canadian to win Pan Am gold in pommel horse". Surrey Now-Leader. October 25, 2023.
- ^ "Artistic Gymnastics Results Book" (PDF). 2018 Commonwealth Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ "Artistic Gymnastics Results Book" (PDF). 2019 Pan American Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ "2022 World Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. November 9, 2022.
- ^ "U.S. claims men's and women's team titles at Pan American Championships". USA Gymnastics. May 28, 2023.
- ^ "Canada sending men's gymnastics team to Olympics for 1st time since 2008". CBC News. October 1, 2023.
- ^ "Santiago 2023 - Team USA claims Pan Am Games men's artistic gymnastics team gold - results". International Olympic Committee. October 21, 2023.
- ^ "Men's Pommel Horse FINAL". 2023 Pan American Games. October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Team Canada gymnasts setting the bar high for Paris 2024". Canadian Olympic Committee. June 28, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Olympic Games Men's Results". The Gymternet. August 5, 2024.
External links
edit- Zachary Clay at the International Gymnastics Federation
- Zachary Clay at Team Canada
- Zachary Clay at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
