Magnificent seven: Athletes on track for epic medal haul
Paralympics Ireland had promised us a “Super Saturday”. No one had said anything about the Sunday.
Little did the celebrating Irish fans — and there were thousands — know, but the tap had been left on overnight. Super Saturday had already developed into a Super Sunday at the Velodrome, but as the light faded, the word filtered through from Greenwich Park that two more medals were in the bag.
Catherine Walsh and her sighted pilot Fran Meehan claimed the first silver in the track cycling and then word emerged from the equestrian arena that Helen Kearney’s efforts on board Mister Cool had earned her the same return and, by extension, won her four-person team a bronze.
People talk about medal momentum at these Games. Team GB witnessed it at the Olympics, and Ireland’s Paralympians are enjoying the same phenomenon in the wake of Bethany Firth’s dam-breaking gold medal in the pool last Friday.
Darragh McDonald equalled that success in the S6 400m on Saturday, then two more golds arrived in the Olympic Stadium.
Just like Katie Taylor last month, Jason Smyth and Michael McKillop shouldered high expectations when they lined up for their T13 100m and T37 800m races but carried their burdens effortlessly, wowing a packed 80,000-crowd, with their world-record performances.
“You’re under so much pressure to succeed and people obviously have the medal around your neck before you even start,” said Smyth, the “Fastest Paralympian on the Planet”.
“So, first and foremost, it’s relief that I got it done, thankful that the work I did has paid off.”
There’s more of this to come, too. By the time Rihanna, Coldplay, and friends wrap up the closing ceremony on Sunday, Ireland should be sitting on a medal haul that has swelled into double figures.
Now that would be something to sing about.
