Team Ireland had two more athletes taking to the Velodrome this morning in Tokyo hoping to improve on Richael Timothy’s performance yesterday
Ireland’s cycling action began early in the morning at 02:00 Irish Time.
Katie-George Dunleavy, Eve McCrystal – Women’s B 1000m Time Trial
Dunleavy piloted by McCrystal went in the final three heats of the women’s time trial. They were looking to push out one of the top three spots all held by members of Team GB but this would be a tough proposition for the usual endurance cyclist.
The pair began their first of four lung-bursting laps with good speed, keeping the bike straight and hugging the line well.
At the halfway point they were two seconds off the leaders with a lot of work to do. After a final push, they finish the one-kilometer race in 1:09.044. The pair managed an average speed of 52.141 km/hr throughout the race.
This heartbreakingly left Dunleavy in fourth place at the time, just outside of medal contention, just over two seconds behind the leader.
The pair ultimately finished in sixth place overall, just over a second longer than the medal times. The Netherlands ‘ Larissa Klaasen took gold while Team GB’s Aileen McGlynn took silver and Belgium’s Griet Hoet got bronze.
#ParaCycling Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal set a new Personal Best and a National Record in the B 1000M Time Trial 💨#TeamIreland | #TheNextLevel | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/ZVGNyRrXnX
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) August 26, 2021
Ronan Grimes – Men’s C4-5 1000m Time Trial
Grimes rode in ninth in the Velodrome at 06:00 this morning. This quick race also required riding at break-neck speeds for four laps of the track.
The Irishman did well getting off to a decent start. He completed the one-kilometer race in 1:08.262 which was a personal best for the cyclist.
Sadly this was not enough for him to land in the medal positions but he can be immensely proud to ride so well at his first Paralympic Games.
Ronan Grimes#TheNextLevel | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/oHjkNIXmi6
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) August 25, 2021
