Interview: "I wanted to find a sport for myself, my own niche. Swimming was a perfect fit.

Cerebral Palsy swimmer Jonathan McGrath became the first Irish paralympian to be integrated into a High Performance unit in this country. On Monday he’ll don the green cap in Glasgow at his third IPC World Championships.

Q:  How does cerebral palsy affect you in the pool?

A: Basically, the nerve messages don’t come down to my legs as effectively as they should.

As a result, the muscles haven’t developed fully so I have weaknesses in both legs. I wouldn’t really have a leg kick when I’m swimming. I swim only with my arms. Your body should be straight in the pool, but my body dips slightly at my hips. Consequently, there would be a bit of a drag while I am swimming. My leg strength in the pool would be 10% of a person who has full power in their legs.

Q: But you can walk unaided away from the water?

A: I’d be able to walk in and out from the car, I’d be able to take the dog for a walk, but I wouldn’t be walking ridiculous amounts. When we go to see the Clare hurlers, we always make sure to get stand tickets. I couldn’t be standing for a full match. I have the leg strength to climb out of the pool after a race, but my coaches have noticed that my walk is a lot worse after a race or training because I would be tired.

Q: Was swimming always an integral part of your life?

A: There’s plenty of water up around Killaloe so you could say it has. I was in the pool from a young age as part of physio stemming from having cerebral palsy. I enjoyed it and so kept it up as I grew older. Nothing competitive, though. Heading down to the Lakeside Hotel with friends was the height of it.

Q: What triggered the jump to competitive fare?

A: I always thought I was decent enough at swimming because I was always able to beat friends in the pool whereas I wouldn’t be able to beat them at running. My mother was listening to the radio one afternoon in 2008, there was a guy on Clare FM talking about the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) Gala coming up in Dublin. My mother decided that we might as well pop up and see how I get on.

I went up there and while I didn’t win, Sandra Cole of the Irish Paralympic Council spotted me out. She said I had raw talent and that I was decent for a swimmer who wasn’t in a club. They set me up with Limerick Swim club and it all kicked off from there. That meet was in July in 2008.

Q: Were you anxious about taking their offer?

A: I jumped at it. I was playing hurling at the time for Smith O’Brien’s, but I didn’t have the leg speed for that. I wanted to find a sport for myself, my own niche. Swimming was the perfect fit.

Q: Was there a breakthrough swim which vindicated your decision to make this sport a central part of your life?

A: In 2009, I was selected to represent Ireland at the IPC European Championships in Reykjavík, Iceland. I competed in 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle events. I was a finalist in the 400m freestyle. I placed eighth. That told me to stick with it, that the London Olympics and possibly medals beyond that were a possibility.

Q: Was it such performances that brought Jonathan McGrath to the attention of the top-brass at UL’s High Performance centre?

A: Lars Hummer and Diana Daly were responsible for me moving into the High Performance set-up. I was invited to do trial runs in the morning time because I would have been the first Irish paralympian to go into a High Performance unit across all sports in Ireland. I was kind of a tester to see would paralympians be able to train at that high level every day. I was 19, coming towards the end of my first year of studying Psychology at UL and it worked out perfectly. The first two weeks were grand, it was the third, fourth and fifth weeks where the body was seriously struggling to adjust. The easy things became a struggle like walking up to the car or even just walking around. It takes time for your body to adapt to the different sleeping patterns and getting recovery right was tough initially.

Q: Surely there must have been a deep sense of pride at becoming the first Irish paralympian to be integrated into a High Performance set-up in this country?

A: There was no pride because I don’t look at myself as being any different from an able-body swimmer. It was more I wanted to prove a point that paralympians could stand this intense regime and schedule.

Q: How intense is your typical training day ?

A: I would be up at 4.15am and have breakfast. I would have to be on the pool deck at 5am in UL. We do a warm-up until 5.20am and the session proper starts at 5.30am. We are out of the water at 7.30am. On a Monday, Tuesday and Saturday, we have gym or Pilates straight after that. That lasts for an hour. For the afternoon session I am out on deck at 2.30pm and I am in the water from 3pm-5pm. I wouldn’t have an idea of how much I am swimming each day, but in a week I know I clock 50km. I am travelling in from Killaloe every morning. If I have college I will stay on campus, if not then I will head home for a nap.

Q: Target for next week’s IPC World Championships in Glasgow?

A: I want to make the final in the 400m freestyle and to record a personal best in the 100m backstroke. I swam 6.35 at the IWA Gala in 2008 and back in April I posted a PB of 4.51.00 over the 400m. That’s the progress I’ve made in the past seven years. Now to medal at the World Championships that time would need to come down to about 4.40, 4.39 for a bronze medal. I am a bit away, but the gap can be closed in the next few years.

I think Rio (2016 Paralympics) may come too soon in terms of closing the gap. I simply want to remain close to the big boys next year, maybe cut the gap to four or five seconds.

The medal wouldn’t be coming until Tokyo (2020 Games) if it was to come at all. Here’s hoping. Definitely I’ll still be going in five years.