Kilkenny’s Mary Fitzgerald wins European bronze with best display to date

KILKENNY’S MARY FITZGERALD has won a bronze medal in the shot put for Ireland at the World Para Athletics European Championships in Bydgoszcz.

Fitzgerald produced her best performance to date to secure third place, recording a throw of 7.02m in her first attempt and maintaining a steady display over her first five throws.

She fired an excellent effort of 7.35m in her final throw to clinch the bronze medal in a competitive field which included European and Championship record holder Renata Sliwinska and Dutch competitor Lara Baars.

Sliwinska took the gold medal with a throw of 8.75m while Baars took second with a throw of 7.85m.

“I was happy with the distance, I would have liked to have thrown a little further but really happy all the same,” Fitzgerald told Paralympics Ireland after her performance as she now turns her focus to the Paralympic Games.

“Lots of stuff to work on but I think that puts me in a good position going to Tokyo, I know what needs to be worked on and now I’m looking forward to the next block of training going on to Tokyo.”

🚨🚨🚨Medal Alert🚨🚨🚨@_MaryFitzG wins bronze for Ireland. Fantastic debut European performance from the Kilkenny Shot Putter. She threw 7:35m with her third throw to comfortably claim the 🥉.

Well done Mary #TeamIreland #TheNextLevel #Bydgoszcz2021 pic.twitter.com/GfRir7VfTq

— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) June 2, 2021

Jordan Lee is in action for Ireland in the T47 High Jump at the World Para Athletics European Championships tomorrow.

Elsewhere in Para Sports, there will be Irish interest in the Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe Championships in Poznan whilst Colin Judge will also hope to produce a big performance at the Paralympic World Qualification table tennis Tournament in Slovenia where the Dubliner knows that a tournament win will secure a slot at the Paralympic Games.

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