Paralympics Ireland Annual Report 2019
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| 3 Paralympics Ireland Annual Report | 2019 missing out on over a year of competition through injury. His return earned him a brilliant 4 th place finish in his T38 1500m final securing a third slot at the Paralympic Games to go with those secured by the medallists; Niamh McCarthy and Jason Smyth. Elsewhere, it was a year to remember for Wheelchair Marathon racer, Patrick Monahan. He produced his best ever performance in the Duluth marathon to finish in second place overall in a time of 1:22:23 which was a massive 6:40 minutes faster than his previous best time. Monahan followed this performance up by reclaiming his Dublin marathon title in October. Ireland sent a two person team to the World Para Athletics World Junior Championships in Switzerland in August. Cathal Ryan and Shauna Bocquet carried the flag for Ireland and both returned home with medals to reward their efforts. Shauna Bocquet claimed the overall win in the 1500m and Cathal also returned with a medal as he secured a silver medal in the Discus. Boccia 2019 was a quiet year for Boccia Ireland in terms of training and competition as work was put in behind the scenes to ensure that the Boccia Strategic Plan was being implemented. One of the key objectives for 2020 is the appointment of 5 new members to the Boccia sub committee to support their growth and development ambitions. Supported High Performance Sports It was a superb year for the Irish ParaCycling team who had some excellent results throughout the season. It got off to a great start at the UCI Para Track World Championships where the mixed tandem pair of Katie George Dunlevy & Eve McCrystal and Martin Gordon & Eamon Byrne claimed a silver medal in the sprint relay test event. Conor McIlveen, Orla Barry, Noelle Lenihan, Niamh McCarthy, Jason Smyth, Jordan Lee, Greta Streimikyte, Michael McKillop, David Leavy and Mary Fitzgerald. The team performed well overall but it was very noticeable how much the standards in Para Athletics have increased globally. Despite the increase in competition we still secured two world championship medals thanks to the efforts of Jason Smyth (Gold) and Niamh McCarthy (Bronze). Michael McKillop also made a most welcome return to action after Ireland's first ever Para Swimming relay team Para Swimming Team with National Coach Jim Laverty and Swimming Manager Hayley Burke