Plain sailing as Olympic couple jump final hurdle

Cork Olympians Derval O’Rourke and Peter O’Leary jetted off on honeymoon last night after tying the knot in picturesque Parknasilla, Co Kerry, at the weekend.

The sprint hurdler, 32, and her sailor beau, 29, shared their big day with 150 family and friends in Sneem on Saturday.

And not even her recent achilles tendon operation was going to stop the flying Corkwoman enjoying her wedding-day extravagance — a pair of Jimmy Choos bought for the occasion.

“I rocked out a fab pair of jimmy choo’s!,” O’Rourke tweeted afterwards. “Didn’t let the achilles affect my fashion.”

Hotel staff at Parknasilla had a miniature hurdle and a boat waiting outside for the couple’s wedding guests. Peter and Derval are building a new home in Crosshaven in Cork, but O’Rourke has yet to make a definite decision on her athletics career.

She will be rehabilitating her achilles until the new year and is out of action until next spring at the earliest.

The couple got to know each other on the flight home from the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

“It wasn’t until we were on the plane back home that we really connected,” said O’Rourke. “It was a very long flight and we spent hours talking together.”