And so we bid farewell to Tokyo…

HEARTBREAK FOR MCKILLOP

There was disappointment on the track for four-time T37 gold medallist Michael McKillop whose phenomenal 13-year unbeaten Paralympic streak ended when he finished eighth in the T38 1500m final in a race in which he also lost his longstanding T37 record.

Despite the fact that his previous T37 class is now absorbed into the T38 category the 31-year-old from Antrim still came hoping to win a fifth medal in his fourth Paralympic Games. It was not to be however as Canada’s world T38 champion Nate Riech quickly strung out the field en route to a new T38 1500m Paralympic record of 3:58.92.

The pace was such that Algeria’s Abdelkrim Krai broke the African record when taking silver in 4:03.07 and Australia’s Dean Kenzie, the T58 silver medallist in Rio, was delighted to take bronze in 4:03.76. Canada’s Liam Stanley, who took T37 silver behind McKillop in Rio in 2016, actually broke the Ulster man’s T37 Paralympic record (4:08:11, set in the 2012 Games in London) with a run of 4:06.95 but could still only finish fifth while McKillop was eighth in 4:27:69.

“I had to follow the pack and set myself up to be in the mix and I did that but then I just had literally nothing in my legs after 600m and they just got away further and further.

“I feel I’ve let my dad down. This is his last year and I wanted to give him something back. I know he’s got a lot out of it already but, after my surgery and getting through all that stuff, he got me back in the shape that I was going to be competitive and that’s why I came here.

“To now not be competitive in races like this just shows you that it’s moved on. It’s disappointing not having my category anymore but that’s how it is. Everyone has to deal with it.”

McKillop has been part of a golden generation of Paralympic athletes who have highlighted the elite nature of their sport and brought a greater understanding of what it means to put ability over disability.

It was hard to watch his pain at the end of his Paralympic Games journey but we can only hope that the next chapter of his life is as good for him as his career has been for us.

GOLD AGAIN FOR DUNLEVY AND MCCRYSTAL

Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal made it an incredible Double gold on the road for Team Ireland as they won the Women’s tandem road race in dramatic fashion on Friday morning. They have now added the gold to their haul of silver on the track and gold in the Time Trial to finish their Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games with a tremendous haul of two gold medals and a bronze.

The tandem duo raced a perfect tactical race as they duelled with the Swedish and British bike throughout the 92.4km track as it became clear that the medallists would come from amongst this trio. Not alone did they have their competitors to battle with but they also had to overcome the treacherous conditions that saw several bikes and their riders crash heavily throughout the day.

Their tactical masterstroke came on the last climb as the Irish pair attacked and overtook the Swedish bike and never relented from there to the finish as the Swedish and British pair could not respond to the Irish move.

At the end of the final straight it was Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal that raised their hands over their heads in celebration as they confirmed their status as the best women’s tandem pair in the world.

After the race, Eve McCrystal said “That is the most stressful race I have ever done in my life as a pilot, just with the weather and the corners.
The Swedish really put it to us on the technical parts of the course. She was such a good bike handler. Gaps came on the corners, it was a lot of work to get them back. The climb was tough every lap. I found it so stressful. I can’t believe we are after winning, I am just shocked, shocked.”

Katie George Dunlevy said “I struggled at school, I found school really hard. I was diagnosed at 11 – I would have liked to have been able to say to my younger self then that everything is going to be okay – great things can happen. Just believe in yourself and there are things you can do and that is what I would tell someone young with sight issues at home watching this.”

 

FITZGERALD MARKS HER PARALYMPICS DEBUT

Mary Fitzgerald became a Paralympian in fine style today as she finished in 6th place in the F40 shot put competition. Mary grew into the competition with her best effort coming with the 6th and final throw of the competition.

“Tricky conditions out there, the rain definitely affects the shot put but I’m not going to use it as the excuse,” she said.

“I would have liked to have thrown closer to my PB of 8.12 but 7.79 isn’t miles off. I got it in the last round so that is probably when I started to get settled with the conditions in terms of challenging the board more but ya look, like somebody said, I can call myself a Paralympian now and that is a huge honour. It’s nice to add it to the CV, a little disappointed but I know there’s more to come in the future and I know this is only the beginning.”

“Even though family, friends and supporters weren’t there in the stadium, I definitely felt the support ever since I landed in Tokyo and from just before I was about to leave so I’m just incredibly grateful to my family, of course, my parents John and Evelyn, to my brother Patrick my club Gowran AC in Kilkenny as well as Leevale in Cork and UCC my college, where I am studying, as well as the Quercus Programme. Just the support has been absolutely amazing, I’m just incredibly grateful, I owe them definitely, it’s been just amazing.”

 

DUNLEVY AND MCCRYSTAL CARRY THE FLAG

Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal carried the Irish flag at the Closing Ceremony, marking their achievement in winning two gold medals and one silver at the Games.

The tandem pair claimed their first medal at the Izu Velodrome in the Women’s B 3000m Individual Pursuit. Even better was to come when they switched to the road with as they claimed gold in the Time Trial and repeated that success with a tactical triumph in the road race. These three medals have been added to their impressive haul of Paralympic medals that were already in their possession following gold and silver medal displays in Rio 2016.

Speaking about the appointment of Katie-George Dunlevy as flag bearer assisted by Eve McCrystal, Chef de Mission, Neasa Russell said “Katie-George and Eve have brought great joy to Irish people over a number of years, they have conducted themselves as role models and ambassadors for their sport and indeed their country. This appointment is recognition, not only of their incredible achievements on the bike, but also of their contribution to Paralympic Sports off the bike.”

 

TOP 12 FOR MONAGHAN BRINGS IRISH GAMES TO A CLOSE

A Top 12 place for Patrick Monahan in the T54 marathon brought Team Ireland’s involvement in the Paralympic Games to an end in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on Sunday. The 35-year-old from Kildare, classified as T53 but racing against mostly T54 athletes, finished in 12th in a time of 1:32.54, four places higher than his Paralympic debut in Rio five years ago and in very different conditions.

The Caragh man had done meticulous preparation in heat chambers for the expected heat but the race, which started at 6:30am locally, was played out in heavy rain and weather that was much more like home. Defending champion Marcel Hug and China’s Jong Zhang had a terrific tussle at the front before the Swiss superstar pulled away with just 2km remaining to win in one hour 24:02 minutes, winning his fourth gold medal of these Games.

Zhang took silver in a personal best of 1:24.22 and America’s Daniel Romanchuk got away from a four-man chasing group to win bronze in 1:29.05.
With most of the world’s big city marathons cancelled over the past two years due to COVID-19, it was the first race for Monahan in two years and he admitted that had made him very nervous beforehand.

“I was the most nervous I’ve ever been before a race because I hadn’t raced in two years. You’d be doubting yourself and it’s tough being on last but I’m happy with that, it was a decent pace.

“I usually look forward to racing but I was dreading it, the nerves were kinda getting the better of me, even this morning I was hoping I’d have grip. It’s such a tricky thing to get right so I’m glad it held up in the end.

“I’ve never prayed for rain before but I was actually praying for it here because I’d been struggling for grip here beforehand. The rain ended up being an issue at the start, the material was coming off my glove after 10km, but I had a spare pair in the back and they just held together.

“I got a poor start, I slipped on the rims a few times but I didn’t panic and got back into it and picked off a few lads as I went along. The course was tough enough and coming back was pretty hilly.

“It’s getting harder to get here, it was a very small field, so it’s a privilege to be here and hopefully I’ve inspired a few people at home to pass me out fairly quickly.

 

AND FINALLY…

It was the Games that might never have happened. Blown off course and delayed 12 months by Covid, the organisers, athletes and the people of Japan determined that Tokyo 2020 would happen and so it did.

The Closing Ceremony finished with a rendition of What a Wonderful World and it feels that way after a summer of sport that encompassed so much of what we love about sport, the wins, the losses the ecstasy and the agony.

All that remains is to say Thank You and for that we turn to the athletes.


 

 

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