THE TATTOOS ARE striking.
‘Be kind. Always,’ is printed below Richael Timothy’s right bicep. There’s a detailed sleeve underneath, wrapped around her forearm.
Several smaller tattoos are visible on her wrist, including the equality sign and a semi-colon.
The Paralympic Agitos symbol and a bicycle are inked elsewhere.
Timothy is happy to give the full tour.
“I got the ‘Be kind, always’ one after my disability,” the Galway cyclist, who acquired a brain injury in 2016 at the age of 21, tells The 42.
“I had a few school friends who struggled with mental health. It was a big thing for me and it was something I probably wouldn’t have spoke about a lot. But with what happened to me, my mental health has obviously massively been affected.
“You get one [tattoo], and you’re kind of like, ‘Ah, I’ll just get a few more!’ I had always said I’d get a sleeve, a safari theme, and then I just added to it. I have the equality sign for LGBT…
“That’s the symbol for mental health.” she points to the semi-colon.
“I have the Tokyo [logo] on the back [of her arm], I left a bit of space for Paris.”
Timothy is gearing up for her second Paralympic Games. She’s currently in Portugal with the Irish cycling team, final preparations underway in what she calls a “military camp”.
Eat, sleep, train, repeat — all in the velodrome.
From there, it’s onto Paris. Timothy’s first event is on Day 1, 29 August.
That same day, her daughter, Lucie, turns one.
Lucie waved her off from Dublin Airport, but she and Timothy’s partner, Jenny, will travel over for the Games with her wider family.
Off to do you Proud ❤️ https://t.co/Q8rV5y1PCm
— Richael Timothy (@RichaelT) August 7, 2024
Last summer’s arrival — Jenny gave birth, with the IVF journey planned around Richael’s training schedule — was life-changing, and continuously offers perspective through the crazy world of top-level cycling.
“Obviously cycling was my number one focus,” Timothy, who previously played inter-county football and underage international soccer, says.
“To be an elite athlete, you’re selfish: you wake up and you’re like, ‘I need to eat my breakfast and I need to go on my bike at this time.’
“But — with me acquiring a disability as well — you learn what is important, and what is important but not the end of the world. For me, I’m cycling because I’m able to cycle and because I enjoy being competitive. But at the end of the day, if you can’t train on a specific day because your daughter’s sick or whatever, it takes priority.”
Constant communication with coaches and family is key, with nods to the ever-understanding Jenny and to both of their parents, who are extremely supportive.
The lack of sleep was a shock to the system at first, particularly given fatigue is a major challenge with a brain injury, but Timothy and Co. are “all in” and learning throughout.
Lucie’s routine even helps to structure her training, which is something she has struggled with in contrast to team sport.
“Obviously it’s hard, because if I’m going out for four hours and Lucie has been awake all night, you’re feeling bad, but at the same time I’m doing it to get an income… that’s my job at the end of the day. That’s the way I have to look at it some days.
“It’s all about your support network, especially for Para. People with a disability, they might have a bad day, good day, or setback that might take longer to recover than others. You have to take that into consideration.”
Timothy will compete across four events in Paris between the velodrome and road: individual pursuit, road race, 500m time trial and individual time trial. She generally races in the Women’s C3 category, but C1, C2 and C3 are all combined for the Games, and then factored to level the playing field.
This potentially decreases her medal chances, particularly in the time trials, but Timothy says it may be an advantage for her main events, the pursuit and the road race.
She feels she is in better shape than Tokyo and insists she performs best under pressure after a stressful qualification process.
No matter what happens, Timothy just loves cycling. That burning enthusiasm and passion remains, and that will go a long way. It always has.
“I could have easily said last year, ‘D’you know what? I’m not gonna go to Paris. I could get a job in something else,’” the 29-year-old says. “But I still love competing and I still love riding my bike.
“I want to keep showing that even a brain injury doesn’t stop you doing sport. Cycling is so solo: if you’re not enjoying it and wanting to do it, you’re not going to perform. Previously, I looked at it as, ‘It’s great to be cycling,’ but now it’s a job. You’re doing it for your family, for everyone else. I still love it.
“The training side of it sometimes is like, ‘Oh my god, I’m putting myself through hell for this,’ but then when you compete, you see the reasons you do it.
“My reasoning for it is not because of medals and because of show and all that, it’s still just to show people that have a disability or have acquired something that they thought would change their lives, that there is this option.”
