Success for Cavan athlete in Berlin
Angela Cleary from Killeshandra is a member of the Breffni Blues Special Olympics Club in Cavan.
A Cavan bowler competing at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin placed third claiming a Bronze medal in the Doubles event on Wednesday.
Angela Cleary from Killeshandra is a member of the Breffni Blues Special Olympics Club in Cavan.
It is the first time the local sporting organisation has had athletes attend the World Games to help fly the flag for Team Ireland.
Angela (29) was joined out in Berlin by her mum Bernie, dad Peter, and their granddaughter Mya Rose.
Angela had already earned sixth place and a participation media in the individual bowling competition.
Born in Chelsea, England, Angela has been involved with Special Olympics for seven years and Berlin is her first World Games.
The bowling team were trained by Head Coach Veronica Murray, now in her fifth World Games, and who in 2020 won a Volunteer of the Year award with Special Olympics from the Federation of Irish Sports. Veronica is assisted by Michael Mason, a coach with South Dublin Strikers bowling club for the last 22 years, and head coach for the last eight years.
Fellow Cavan athlete Philip Eoghan Comerford from Ballinagh is meanwhile competing in kayaking.
Also competing on the global stage for the first time, Philip Eoghan took part in the 200 metre kayaking event on Thursday, and with compete for a second time on Saturday, June 24, in the 500 metre event.
Special Olympics kayaking is a flat water racing event where the athletes compete either on their own or as a pair with another athlete.
Philip Eoghan (34) has been active in Special Olympics with Breffni Blues Special Olympics Club since 2016, in bocce, golf, and athletics to various levels of national success, and is now competing in his new chosen sport.
The Team Ireland kayakers are trained by Head Coach Declan O’Connell who coaches the Mallow Special Olympics Club, assisted by Esther King and Cathal Ruane.
The 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games runs from June 17-25.
It is the first time the country has hosted the games, with around 7,000 athletes and Unified partners attending from approximately 170 countries to compete in the 24 sports listed.
Around 3,000 coaches and 20,000 volunteers are also in attendance, and the events are taking place at 15 different venues from the Olympiapark Berlin to the SC Brandenburg and the Wannsee.