Paralympics: Niamh McCarthy takes fifth in discus final; Gary O’Reilly fourth in road race

Cork discus thrower McCarthy said: “I know other people were expecting better things but it’s been a very hard few years so just to make it here and to have a few good throws... I’m really proud of myself.”

Wed, 01 Sep, 2021 - 09:41

Gary O’Reilly brought a memorable first Paralympic Games to a close with another excellent performance that saw him finish in fourth place in the Men's H5 Road Race in Tokyo.

O’Reilly stayed with the lead group until near to the end of the race but a breakaway of three riders made a surge the rest couldn’t answer. In the end, O’Reilly made a break to ensure he finished next best with a time of 2:24.57.

“I’m chuffed about the Games as a whole. I think fourth today was the best result I could have hoped for, to be honest. With the medal yesterday, I’m still struggling to believe that happened, so I think all in all it’s job done. I couldn’t be happier.”

Despite saving her best throw until last, Cork discus thrower Niamh McCarthy finished fifth in the F41 final. The Rio silver medallist and three-time world medallist produced her best throw of 28.94 metres in the sixth round.

Her first-round 28.59m had her lying third but the standard of competition was sensational and saw the world record change hands three times. Defending champion Roaua Tlili took gold with her final throw of 37.91m to overtake Morocco’s Youssra Karim (37.35m) whose teammate Hayat El Garaa took bronze with 29.30.

McCarthy said: “I’m happy with my performance. I know other people were expecting better things but it’s been a very hard few years so just to make it here and to have a few good throws I’m happy with that.

“My PB is over 30m and I’m a way’s off my season best. If you just look at the result you’d be thinking if I did slightly nearer to it I could have got a medal but I don’t think I could have done more today, I did as best as I could.

"Had the Games gone ahead last year I wouldn’t have been in them. I’ve been trying for years to get back to where I used to be so it’s been a difficult time. I’ve changed as a person. That’s not to say that those strengths aren’t in there but they’re not with me right now in the quantity that I’d like so I’m happy to just have made it to this competition. It was touch-and-go so I’m really proud of myself.”

Róisín Ní Riain has qualified for another final in her concluding event at her debut Paralympics, setting a new personal best along the way. The 16-year-old finished second in the heats of the Women’s 100m Breaststroke - SB13 with a time of 1:20.81.

She found herself in fifth position at the halfway point but produced a terrific second 50m sprint to beat out her competitors from Germany, Uzbekistan, and RPC. She qualifies fifth for the final later today which takes place at 11.09am (Irish time).

Meanwhile, Ellen Keane returned to action following her gold medal last week and she produced a strong performance to qualify for the finals of the Women’s 200m Individual Medley - SM9. The Dubliner finished second in her heat with a time of 2:40.99 leaving her in seventh place overall for the final which takes place at 10.40am (Irish time).

“I knew I had to go fast to try and make the final tonight so I gave all that I had. I was actually so nervous, I felt like I was going to get sick before the race just because it’s such a hard field,” said Keane.

“You could swim a best time and still not make a final. And I was just less than a second off my best.”

First out in the pool this morning for Team Ireland was Barry McClements who finished just outside of the final times in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley - SM9. McClements raced a time of 2:29.68 which left him in joint fourth position in this morning’s heats alongside Italy’s Simone Ciulli.

Philip Eaglesham returned to the shooting range this morning to compete in the SH2 R5 competition on the 10m range.

Eaglesham competed well again with a high score of 106.2 and a low of 104.2 from across his six rounds of shooting. He concluded with a total score of 632.0 to finish in 21st place.

His attention will now turn to his favoured event, the R4 Mixed, which moves back to a 50m range, on Saturday.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Day 8 results

H5 Road Race, Gary O’Reilly, 2:24.57, 4th place

F41 Discus, Niamh McCarthy, 28.94m, 5th place

SM9 200m Individual Medley Heat, Barry McClements, 2:29.68, Joint 4th place

SM9 200m Individual Medley Heat, Ellen Keane, 2:40.99, 2nd place

SB13 100m Breaststroke Heat, Róisín Ní Riain, 1:20.81, 2nd place

SH2 R5, Philip Eaglesham, 632.0, 21st place