Athletics and resilience: Sport is rewarding, but brutally unforgiving, in equal measure

Athlete Frank McGrath overcame the odds after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour to win a place on the team representing Ireland at the upcoming under-20 men’s European Cross Country Championships in Turkey. His mum, Peta Bee, describes what it’s like to watch her son push on

Frank McGrath (Lagan Valley AC) races to the finishing line, to claim his U20 silver medal, at the All Ireland Cross Country Championships at Castle Irvine Estate, Co Fermanagh, on November 17.  Picture: Perri Williams

Anyone with a child who plays sport will know the acute levels of pleasure and pain that can come with watching them compete. 

I have often felt a stab of anguish as my son Frank (McGrath), a middle-distance runner who is now 19, finishes a race that has left him saddled with disappointment.