To Beijing

On Sunday morning, I watched the Kenny Egan, Gold/Silver medal fight and like most supporters did not agree with the officials scoring. It certainly was a home town victory. Little did I know that twenty four hours later I would meet the Irish silver medal winner when he visited our Camp in Beijing to welcome our Paralympic Team.

As the local athletes departed for day two in Mosney, I joined the Paralympic Team at Dublin Airport for the first leg of the journey to Amsterdam. As we boarded the KLM flight for the final leg to Beijing, the texts came in from coaches and parents. The Donegal Town Under 12 Team finishes 2nd, the Under 16 team 4th, Clare Brady and Aoife O’Connor finish 5th in their semi finals, Miriam Braden was over the moon with a 5th place walk finish and Rose McCauley (marathon) and Katie Hoad (ball throw)  also are very pleased with their performances. Well done to all and in particular a thank you to the parents who came down to support and to club coaches Paul O’Gara, Geraldine O’Connor and Jackie Harvey who have given endless hours in preparing the athletes.

To compete successfully at any level of sport, words such as support systems, preparation and planning come high on the agenda. Following an eight hour flight, the best prepared and supported Paralympic Team ever to leave Ireland touched down in Beijing, at 9.30am local time. [Beijing is seven hours ahead of Irish time].

To aid recovery and adjust to the jet lag, all athletes/support staff on arrival at our camp/hotel went immediately to bed for two hours. During the afternoon the medical team which includes a doctor, two physiologists and two physiotherapists monitored body weight, resting heart rates and hydration and all retired to bed at 10 o'clock local time. Training, possibly tomorrow evening, will commence when the athletes have recovered form the journey.

The complete team were given an extra boost this evening when the Irish Olympic Boxing Team visited the camp. They spoke positively about their experiences during the past five weeks i.e. final preparation and competition. Earlier in the evening Patsy McGonagle and Irish Team doctor Bill Cuddidy were also very welcome visitors.

This is my fourth Paralympics coaching experience. We have ten track and field athletes in the squad. My role this time is in a specific coaching capacity to Lisa Callaghan, a F37 Javelin Thrower and in general to the  throws group on the panel. Lisa from Dulleek in Co Meath is well known to local Tír Chonaill athletes and coaches as she has spent numerous weeks and weekends training in Donegal Town over the past few years.

Lisa is very relaxed and focused and aims to throw a P.B. out here. Former successful Irish Paralympians, Bridie Lynch (Atlanta), Catherine Walsh (Sydney) and Conal McNamra (Athens), all whom I have had the honour of coaching will give Lisa extra strength to achieve her goal in what will be a very competitive arena.

It's past bedtime now. Tomorrow the final preparation stage really begins.