AFTER 12 DAYS of competition and five years of preparation, Team Ireland’s involvement at Tokyo 2020 has come to an end. Welcome to the latest of our overnight updates from the Paralympic Games.
The Irish Eye
In the T54 marathon, Patrick Monahan, who is classified as T53 but racing against mostly T54 athletes, finished 12th in a time of 1:32.54 at the Olympic Stadium.
“I was the most nervous I’ve ever been before a race because I hadn’t raced in two years. You’d be doubting yourself and it’s tough being on last but I’m happy with that, it was a decent pace,” the 35-year old said post-event.
“I usually look forward to racing but I was dreading it, the nerves were kind of getting the better of me, even this morning I was hoping I’d have grip. It’s such a tricky thing to get right so I’m glad it held up in the end.
“I’ve never prayed for rain before but I was actually praying for it here because I’d been struggling for grip here beforehand. The rain ended up being an issue at the start, the material was coming off my glove after 10km, but I had a spare pair in the back and they just held together.
“I got a poor start, I slipped on the rims a few times but I didn’t panic and got back into it and picked off a few lads as I went along. The course was tough enough and coming back was pretty hilly.
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“It’s getting harder to get here, it was a very small field, so it’s a privilege to be here and hopefully I’ve inspired a few people at home to pass me out fairly quickly.”
Defending champion Marcel Hug and China’s Jong Zhang had a terrific tussle at the front before the Swiss superstar pulled away with just 2km remaining to win in one hour 24:02 minutes, winning his fourth gold medal of these Games.
Who else is making headlines
In the women’s T54 marathon, Australian Madison de Rozario clung on to finish ahead of Swiss great Manuela Schaer, winning the gold by just one second.
“That was the longest 500 metres of my life,” de Rozario told reporters after finishing in a Paralympic record of 1:38.11.
“That finish line couldn’t have come quick enough.”
The 27-year-old was adding a second gold to her T53 800m title in Tokyo. She also took bronze in the T54 1,500m.
Picture of the day
Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug on his way to winning gold.
Your must-see Paralympic schedule for today
Team Ireland’s final act of the games will come this evening will come as Katie-George Dunlevy, accompanied by Eve McCrystal, will carry the Irish flag into the Olympic Stadium one last time as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are brought to an official end.
Otherwise, it is onto Paris.
-additional reporting by Agence France-Presse & Paralympics Ireland
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Paralympic Breakfast: Patrick Monahan brings the curtain down on Tokyo 2020
AFTER 12 DAYS of competition and five years of preparation, Team Ireland’s involvement at Tokyo 2020 has come to an end. Welcome to the latest of our overnight updates from the Paralympic Games.
The Irish Eye
In the T54 marathon, Patrick Monahan, who is classified as T53 but racing against mostly T54 athletes, finished 12th in a time of 1:32.54 at the Olympic Stadium.
“I was the most nervous I’ve ever been before a race because I hadn’t raced in two years. You’d be doubting yourself and it’s tough being on last but I’m happy with that, it was a decent pace,” the 35-year old said post-event.
“I usually look forward to racing but I was dreading it, the nerves were kind of getting the better of me, even this morning I was hoping I’d have grip. It’s such a tricky thing to get right so I’m glad it held up in the end.
“I’ve never prayed for rain before but I was actually praying for it here because I’d been struggling for grip here beforehand. The rain ended up being an issue at the start, the material was coming off my glove after 10km, but I had a spare pair in the back and they just held together.
“I got a poor start, I slipped on the rims a few times but I didn’t panic and got back into it and picked off a few lads as I went along. The course was tough enough and coming back was pretty hilly.
“It’s getting harder to get here, it was a very small field, so it’s a privilege to be here and hopefully I’ve inspired a few people at home to pass me out fairly quickly.”
Defending champion Marcel Hug and China’s Jong Zhang had a terrific tussle at the front before the Swiss superstar pulled away with just 2km remaining to win in one hour 24:02 minutes, winning his fourth gold medal of these Games.
Who else is making headlines
In the women’s T54 marathon, Australian Madison de Rozario clung on to finish ahead of Swiss great Manuela Schaer, winning the gold by just one second.
“That was the longest 500 metres of my life,” de Rozario told reporters after finishing in a Paralympic record of 1:38.11.
“That finish line couldn’t have come quick enough.”
The 27-year-old was adding a second gold to her T53 800m title in Tokyo. She also took bronze in the T54 1,500m.
Picture of the day
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug on his way to winning gold.
Your must-see Paralympic schedule for today
Team Ireland’s final act of the games will come this evening will come as Katie-George Dunlevy, accompanied by Eve McCrystal, will carry the Irish flag into the Olympic Stadium one last time as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are brought to an official end.
Otherwise, it is onto Paris.
-additional reporting by Agence France-Presse & Paralympics Ireland
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patrick monahan team ireland that's a wrap