BT backs ultimate comeback kid in quest for Olympic success

From once being in a wheelchair, Kieran Behan has come a long way to become Ireland’s second ever Olympic gymnast.

In more good news for the 22-year-old, BT Ireland has announced a rolling sponsorship deal with the Surrey-based athlete.

Kieran has already spoken of the financial difficulties he has faced trying to compete on the international stage and acknowledged that the deal would be a major boost to him in the run-up to the Games: “To think years and years ago I was told: ‘You’re never going to be able to walk again let alone do gymnastics,’ to find out I’m going to the Olympic Games is something that dreams are made of. I’m absolutely delighted to receive this support from BT and will be putting it to very good use with my training and preparation in the coming weeks.”

Kieran was in Dublin yesterday talking about his remarkable feat.

As a child, an operation to remove a tumour in his leg went wrong and forced him to use a wheelchair with both doctors and psychologists telling him he would never walk again. However, after months of intensive rehab, he returned to his sport only for disaster to strike again.

A mistake on a high bar saw the then 12-year-old hit the back of his head and suffer brain damage. The accident affected the vestibular area of his brain, which controls balance, and once more left Behan struggling to walk, while the slightest movements would cause him to black out.

Yet, in January the impossible happened when, at the London Test Event, Behan’s performance saw him gain a place at the Olympics. In doing so he became only the second Irish gymnast to achieve that feat, after Barry McDonald was given a wild card to Atlanta. And with 100 days to go to the Games, the Londoner — who is the son of a Dublin builder and Monaghan aerobics instructor — spoke of his joy at what’s happened.

“I remember getting the results of the test event in my hotel room and I couldn’t believe it.

“There were times when I thought I’d never make it this far and I never believed that day would come. But now the countdown is really on and I’m realising that it’s all happening and this is all true. I’m just hoping to stay fit and trying to make sure the preparation goes right and I will be in great shape to represent Ireland in a few months. It’s all a little bit surreal but I cannot wait.”