Paralympians all set to make a splash

South East Clare’s Paralympians, the only two Clare people to represent Ireland at the London games are gearing up to show the world what they can do.

The Irish Paralympic team has arrived in the UK to a warm welcome and positive atmosphere following their training camp in Portugal this past week.

Speaking to The Clare Champion, Clonlara paralympic rower Sarah Caffrey said the training camp was a great success and her team are now awaiting their chance to get out on the water and show Ireland what they can do.

“We had a training camp in Portugal with the whole Paralympic squad, which was a great opportunity to get to meet all the other Irish Paralympians. We also had invited the Canada team to come out to Portugal to row alongside us as part of our preparation. Canada was world champion two years ago so it was very beneficial for us to have a good standard team to row beside to help us in our final physical and mental preparations. We flew straight from Portugal to London where we said goodbye to the rest of our squad who are based over in the Paralympic Park, while we are based near Eton Dorney on the other side of London where the rowing will be held,” she said.

Having arrived at the rowing village, Sarah said the atmosphere has been “fantastic” and the team has had a chance to train everyday on the course.

“The set-up is fantastic and there is a very positive atmosphere from all the volunteers and staff here who are so helpful. It has been great catching up with all the people we have gotten to know in the other countries’ teams too. We have built lots of friendships over the past three years especially with Canada and Australia but once you get on the water, it’s all business,” she said.

The team will compete in three races over the weekend, the heats taking place on Friday at 11.30am and the repechage race at the same time on Saturday. The outcome of this event will determine who is in the A and B finals and the two finals will be held on Sunday between 10.30am and 12 noon.

“I’m feeling very excited about racing and putting all the hard work of the past three years into practice. We are hoping for an A final finish, which would mean finishing in the top six and then we’ll take it from there and see what happens once we achieve that,” Sarah concluded.

Elsewhere, work will be slow to start on Friday morning at St Anne’s Community College, Killaloe as one of its former students achieves his dream of competing in the Paralympics.

Nineteen-year-old Jonathan McGrath’s 400m freestyle heat is at 9.30am. His uncle Johnny McGrath expects staff and pupils will be glued to the television.

Johnny, who teaches chemistry and agricultural science in St Anne’s, lives next door to Jonathan. He can hear his car starting every morning at 4.30am as he heads off for his first training swim at the University of Limerick.

“Teachers and students in St Anne’s are very proud of what Jonathan has achieved over the years. He is very dedicated and talented considering he started swimming competitively quite late.

“There is great support and good wishes for Jonathan in Killaloe and Ballina. There is great excitement in the school and it is a major topic of conversation in the staff room amongst teachers who have returned, while students are back this Thursday,” he said.

The communities of Ballina and Killaloe are very much behind Jonathan, as evidenced by two large banners at either side of Killaloe Bridge with the message “Go Johnny Go”. Another banner of support is fluttering proudly outside Smith O’Brien’s GAA Club.

Donnacha McKeever from Ballina, who has trained regularly with Jonathan in the 50m pool in UL, said he has made remarkable progress, having only started swimming competitively at the age of 15.
Donnacha, who started swimming at 11, has participated in the National Youth Open Championships for four years and won a silver medal in the U-16 1,500m freestyle in 2010 at the National Aquatic Centre.

“Jonathan has shown his dedication by training twice a day for the last year. He was also doing this training while he was completing his Leaving Certificate.

“He has a good sense of humour but that never gets in the way of his training because he trains really, really hard all the time.

“Normally you start at a low level when you start swimming competitively. When Jonathan started at the age of 15, he was already making good times at galas and other events and was performing better than swimmers who were training for four or five years before him.

“We knew that Jonathan was going to do something big. He is well able to keep up with able-bodied swimmers and does all our training sets. He is often the fifth fastest swimmer in lanes with able-bodied swimmers.

“It is hard to come to terms with the fact he is competing in the Paralympics after swimming competitively for only four years. He has made phenomenal progress in a short space of time. It is great for St Anne’s and for Killaloe and Ballina to have a Paralympian,” he said.

Retired St Anne’s maths and science teacher, Sarah McKeogh, recalled Jonathan tried all sports and physical education at school until he found he excelled at swimming. “It is great for St Anne’s for someone like Jonathan to reach the top and represent his country. Participating in the Paralympics is a great achievement for him, “ she added.

Despite only beginning competitive swimming at the age of 15, Jonathan enjoyed meteoric progress once he joined the Irish Paralympic swim squad in 2008. By July 2009, Jonathan was carded as an elite athlete, eligible to receive funding from the Irish Sports Council.

In his first major competition at the 2010 IPC World Championships in Eindhoven, Jonathan finished fifth in the 400m freestyle final, the then 17-year-old producing an outstanding performance to set a new personal best of 4.52:69. He also performed creditably at last year’s IPC European Swimming Championships in Berlin, finishing seventh in the same event.