The Opening Ceremony for the 2020 Toyko Paralympics takes place on Tuesday, August 24th (12pm Irish time).
Ireland has sent a team of 29 competitors to Japan. Two of them are from Sligo.
Here, we introduce you to them – and the events they’ll be competing in.
Martin Gordon - Cycling
Martin is a native of Hazelwood in Sligo. He is a past-pupil of Sligo Grammar School - and lost his sight at the age of 17. He works by day as an in-house Barrister with An Garda Síochána. He's a tandem sprint cyclist along with racing partner Eamonn Byrne (Dublin). This is Martin's first Paralympic Games. |
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| Age: | 36 |
| From: | Hazelwood, Sligo |
| Sport | Cycling |
| Events: | 1000m (Kilo) indoor time trial, road race, road time trial |
| When's he on TV? | Saturday, Aug 28th 03.27am (Irish time) |
Listen to Martin’s pre-Games interview with Ocean FM Sport here:
Patrick Flanagan - Swimming
Patrick comes from a very well-known sporting family in Rosses Point in county Sligo. He grew up in Longford and has a Economics & Finance degree from UCD - and was awarded an Ad Astra Scholarship in June 2021. He reached the final of the 400m freestyle - his main event - at the European Championships in Madeira earlier this year. His Paralympic classification is S6 (Spina bifida). This is his first Paralympic Games. |
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| Age: | 23 |
| From: | Rosses Point, Sligo (Grew up in Longford) |
| Events | 400m freestyle, 100m backstroke |
| When's he on TV? | Thursday, Sept 2nd (03.00am Irish time) |
The Paralympic Games run from Tuesday, August 24th to Sunday, September 5th, 2021.
