Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal claim Paralympic silver in final race together

The British pair of Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl earned gold in Paris.

SILVER SWANSONG: Katie George Dunlevy, left, and Eve McCrystal of Ireland celebrate after winning silver in the women's 3000m individual pursuit final. Pic:  Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

A second medal for Ireland at the Paralympics. A second silver medal. A fitting, if not perfect send-off in the last ever ride of Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal’s 11-year partnership.

Silver in the 3,000m individual pursuit three years ago in Tokyo, it was silver again for the pair. But what an effort in their final outing together.

Having hit the front 625 metres in, they led the British pair of Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl all the way to 2,500m. Their lead, at one point, was a second and a half strong.

From the halfway mark, Unwin and her pilot Holl began to close that gap, with the Brits overtaking the Irish with 500m to go and extending that lead all the way to white tape. Their winning time was 3:19.149, Katie-George and Eve clocking 3:21.315.

The silver represents the pair’s sixth Paralympic medal, adding to their four on the road, three of which were gold, and the earlier mentioned Tokyo track silver.

Across the Paralympics and World Championships, it brings their medal haul to an incredible 21.