From rugby league to world tumbling champion
Blood was gushing from Ethan McGuinness’ nose as he was expected to pull off a series of reversals in the world championships that went downhill.
The nosebleeds the 24-year-old had as a child returned, and no doctor could find a way to stop it. Although they made occasional appearances during training, they were decisive in competitions, including the finals of the sport’s most important competition.
Ethan McGuinness celebrates his final flip at Navarra Arena with a certain facial accessory. Credit: FIG
“During the warm-up, I put tissue on my nose and went through about four tissues because blood was dripping,” he said. “I had ice on my face, on my nose, [I was] I used to pinch my nose when I was standing on the sidelines, but this time it didn’t stop. “Usually it calms down after a while in competition, but this time it was really bad.”
Four contestants remained at the competition site in Pamplona, Spain, and McGuinness reached the fifth nostril-sized roll of tissue. He had entered this month’s world championships not expecting to win because of tendinitis and numerous other injuries, including a small tear in his shoulder, but now his biggest worry was also the most familiar.
As a non-Olympic sport, world championships are the highest level of competition in tumbling, and although McGuinness had already secured a title in Bulgaria in 2022, he was hoping for a bronze medal at best this time around.
Breathing through one nostril and feeling dazed from his previous tumbles and with a nosebleed, McGuinness left his coach at the beginning of the red tumble track and began a run he knew he could pull off.
“I went for it, landed it safely and then won,” he said.
The handkerchief remained tight to his nose as he waved to the crowd.
