Massive PB for Gordon and Mullen despite freak accident in practice

“We had a bad crash on Monday. We didn’t know if we’d be here at all."

Mon, 02 Sep, 2024 - 06:45

Eoghan Cormican, Paris

Fifth for Martin Gordon for the second successive Paralympics. This fifth place, though, had a very different look and feel.

Martin and his pilot Eoin Mullen crashed during a practice spin on the velodrome track last Monday. They were certain their Games were over before they’d even begun. It was a crash kept under wraps until their Games concluded yesterday.

The pair's individual pursuit competition last Thursday was about nothing more than seeing if Mullen’s injured shoulder held up and consequently, would they be able to line up for their stronger 1,000m time trial event on Sunday.

They came through Thursday's individual pursuit and yesterday morning came through the time trial qualifying round in fifth to make the final. They came through in a national record of 1:01.158. Their slightly slower final posting of 1:01.520 saw them fifth overall.

“We had a bad crash on Monday. We didn’t know if we’d be here at all today. Where we were on Monday, I would have taken your hand off to do what we just did today. I’m pleased,” said 39-year-old Sligo native Gordon.

“One of the other nations’ tandems had a blowout in front of us. They came down, left us with nowhere to go. It was just one of those freak accidents on an open track. We had to go over the top of them. We came down.

“A massive PB, I would have taken that before the crash. Those kind of efforts, those kind of results, they're not easy got. They take years to get. We can make excuses, but at the end of the day, we don't really need to.”

Damien Vereker and pilot Mitchell McLaughlin were 10th and did not advance in the same event. Josephine Healion and Linda Kelly, despite an eight-second PB, finished fifth and one place outside the medal races in the 3,000m individual pursuit.

Switching focus to Monday morning, the main Irish action will be at the Pont Alexandre III, if the triathlon action eventually gets the green light.

Initially scheduled for Sunday, the water quality of the Seine was not deemed sufficient to proceed. If no improvement this morning, the 11 triathlon races will go back another day. Organisers have said they are not willing to allow any further postponement beyond Tuesday, at which point duathlons will be staged and the swimming element removed.

In the PTVI para triathlon class, it will be an incredibly special morning for the MacCombe family as twin sisters Chloe and Judith compete. Chloe will be guided in the water, on the bike, and on foot by Catherine Sands, Eimear Nicholls leading Judith. Cassie Cava’s PTS4 class is the last race, at 11.40am.

Colin Judge drew the short straw in today’s MS3 table tennis Round of 16. Having received a first-round bye, the 29-year-old must try and overcome four-time Paralympic champion Panfeng Feng of China.