Zachary Clay (born July 5, 1995) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. He is the 2017 Pan American and

2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games (), officially the XIX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santiago 2023, were an international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, held in Santiago, Chile from 20 October to 5 Novem ...

champion on pommel horse. He represented Canada at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Gymnastics career

2014–15

Clay helped Canada win the bronze medal in the team final at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

held in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2015 Clay tore his ACL and fractured his tibia during a competition.

2017–19

Clay competed at the 2017 Pan American Championships. He won gold on pommel horse, earning his first major international title. He later competed at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

where he placed 21st in the all-around. At the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

Clay helped Canada finish second as a team. Individually he won the bronze medal on

pommel horse The pommel horse, also known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal bo ...

behind Rhys McClenaghan and Max Whitlock. 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

where he helped Canada finish 18th during qualifications. Clay represented Canada at the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games (), officially the XVIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminar ...

held in Lima, Peru. He helped Canada win the bronze medal in the team final. Individually he placed sixth during the pommel horse final.

2022

Clay competed at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. 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.

2023

Clay competed at the 2023 Pan American Championships where he helped Canada win the silver medal. 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 The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, a feat last achieved by the Canadian men's gymnastics team in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. 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 The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

. On the first day of competition he helped the Canadian team win the silver medal behind the United States. 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. In doing so, Clay became the first Canadian to win gold on pommel horse at the Pan American Games.

2024

In late June Clay was named to the team to represent

Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics Canada competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Since Canada's debut in 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900, Canadians, Canadian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for t ...

alongside René Cournoyer, Félix Dolci, William Émard, and Samuel Zakutney. While there he helped Canada finish eighth as a team.

Competitive history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Zachary Living people 1995 births Place of birth missing (living people) Canadian male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Gymnasts at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Gymnasts at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists in gymnastics Pan American Games bronze medalists in gymnastics Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Gymnasts at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Olympic gymnasts for Canada Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in gymnastics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in gymnastics