SEVENTH HEAVEN FOR Katie-George Dunlevy, but this time, with a different partner in crime.
Dunlevy won a magnificent seventh Paralympic medal in the Women’s B Individual Time Trial at Clichy-sous-Bois this afternoon — and a third consecutive gold in this event.
All of her previous Paralympic medals were secured with Eve McCrystal, including Sunday’s silver medal in the Track Individual Pursuit, the fairytale end to a decade-long partnership.
Instead it was Games debutant Linda Kelly who piloted Dunlevy to glory on this occasion, while McCrystal teamed up with Josephine Healion to finish fifth in the same gruelling 28.3km time trial at Clichy-sous-Bois.
“A world of pain” and a “suffer-fest” was how the legendary Dunlevy described it all after a dominant victory. Zero glamour. Lungs and legs screaming, foaming at the mouth, falling off the bike.
The 42-year-old was emotional as the achievement sunk in through the exhaustion.
“Oh my God,” she reflected on her seventh medal.
“If someone said that to me 12 years ago [that I’d win seven medals], I would never believe them.
“Defending my title for the third time. After Tokyo, I decided to carry on for Paris to defend this title. This is what meant the most for me, to defend my title here. I can’t believe that I’ve done it after this year which has been very hard.”
This was Ireland’s fifth medal of the Games — and first gold after a pair of silver and bronzes — and Dunlevy was keen to share a message on Ireland’s medal tally.
“All of the medallists from Ireland are women [Roisin Ní Riain and Orla Comerford], and we’re all vision-impaired women. For any young children at home with vision impairment, if they’ve seen any of our races, hopefully we can inspire them to believe in themselves and to dream big. Hopefully we’re inspiring the next generation in whatever they do, sport or anything else.”
Kelly first joined Dunlevy on the tandem in 2022. She had no previous piloting experience and remembers her first day, in runners, circling a car park. It was like moving a gate.
A few months later, they were moving mountains and winning medals. Dunlevy’s long-serving pilot McCrystal made the decision to take a step back, while Dunlevy and Kelly became world champions.
But the new-look duo were met with mountainous challenges in the build-up to the Games. Crashes, collarbones, concussions, Covid. Kelly sat out structured training for a month after sustaining a concussion as the pair crashed in May. On her return, the New Ross 30-year-old contracted Covid-19. Dunlevy then broke her collarbone in a separate crash with McCrystal. She finished the race but went under the knife a week later; four pins and a plate for good measure.
Through it all, their partnership blossomed and their bond grew. From several self-funded camps to Dunlevy spending a fortune on two new bikes, they went all in.
“It’s all paid off,” Dunlevy smiles. “You have the medals for the rest of your life and nobody can take that from you.”
“Medals and memories, this is one to cherish for sure,” says Kelly.
“Katie and Eve were always a successful partnership, it’s amazing to follow in their footsteps. The two of them are always giving me advice, I’m relatively new, so it’s just a dream for me getting a medal at the Paralympics — a gold medal, it’s just magic. I am over the moon,”
“I’m just so proud of Linda,” Dunlevy adds. “She knew after Tokyo I wanted to defend my title, we have had setbacks but she stepped in and I’m just so proud of her. She had pressure on her shoulders, we both did so I’m so proud of our race to come away and win that, I actually can’t believe it. It will take a while to sink in.”
On Friday, they’ll go again in the road race. It’s Dunlevy’s favourite of all the four events, and they both can’t wait for another taxing, unpredictable effort. McCrystal and Healion will compete too as they look to build on their top-five finish today.
But this was a day which belonged to one person.
“That was for Katie to win today,” the retiring McCrystal told The 42. “I made that choice to step off [the road] because of the course, that course suits Linda as a pilot. I could not be prouder of Katie.
“Rio, Tokyo, Paris. I am so, so proud of her. There’ll be celebrations tonight.
“Every single medal in the Paralympic Games has been from female VI [vision impaired athletes] — Katie said that to me yesterday. It’s amazing. End of quote!”
