Paralympics Ireland

2 | Paralympics Ireland Annual Report | 2019 Introduction 2019 was an important year for Paralympic Sport in Ireland as athletes stepped up their preparations for the Paralympic Games that had been due to take place in August 2020. There were World Championships in both Athletics and Swimming which saw medals returning home to Dublin along with outstanding performances in World Championships for our Cyclists, Para Canoeists and Para Shooting amongst others. We welcomed some new partners to the Paralympics Ireland family and we also welcomed key new appointments to our staff and board. NGB Sports Swimming The World Para Swimming Championships took place in London after being rescheduled from Malaysia where they had originally been fixed to take place. This resulted in the event being hosted in the same venue that hosted the momentous London 2012 Paralympic Games. I would like to commend the efforts of our swimming team support staff along with those of the athletes themselves who were able to adjust well to the change of the fixture and still produce some very impressive results. History was made in the pool as Ireland entered our first ever Para Swimming relay team consisting of Nicole Turner, Ellen Keane, Amy Marren and Ailbhe Kelly. The 4 girls were joined on the 8 person Irish team that competed in London by Sean O'Riordan, Barry McClements, Patrick Flanagan and Jonathan McGrath. After some excellent performances throughout the week the medals came at the weekend when Nicole Turner claimed a brilliant bronze medal and Ellen Keane also picked up a bronze medal on the final day of the competition ensuring that the team returned to Dublin with a pair of World Championships medals. Athletics The World Para Athletics Championships took place at the uncharacteristically late time of November 2019. This presented challenges for athletes that had to attempt to peak at the end of a much longer season than normal. The 11 person athletics team that competed at the world championships included Ireland's first ever blade runner, Alex Lee. The Galway native competed in the 100m and 200m competitions and performed well despite this being his first ever major athletics championships. Lee was joined on the team by

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