Kildare athletes dot down in Rio ahead of Paralympics

Two Kildare athletes have landed on the other side of the world ahead of the Paralympic Games which get underway in less than two weeks.

Team Ireland has sent over a total of 46 athletes to Brazil, and there are high hopes that they will be able to surpass the two medals that their counterparts in the regular Olympic Games managed to to achieve inside the last few weeks.

Sean Baldwin and Pa Monahan are the representatives from Kildare at the games, and they both boarded the flight to Rio yesterday after receiving some positive words from Minister for Sport and Tourism Patrick Donovan. Baltinglass athlete Ciara Staunton and Dunlavin rider Helen Kearney are another two that Kildare locals will be keen to keep an eye during the games.

Newbridge sharpshooter Séan Baldwin will be competing in the shooting event, and it is the second time that he has represented his country at the games following his first appearance for Team Ireland at London 2012.

Patrick Monahan, a wheelchair athlete from Caragh, will carry serious prospects of landing a medal for Ireland in the T53 marathon event after he smashed the Irish record time by seven minutes in Ohio last year, while he also claimed victory in the Dublin marathon in 2015.

Dunlavin local Helen Kearney will be hopeful of continuing her success at the games in the equestrian events, maybe even going one better than last time and landing a gold medal. She represented Ireland at the Paralympic Games in London 2012, where she won a silver and a bronze medal in her individual events and also helped the Irish para-equestrian team secure a bronze medal. Since London, she has been competing at European and World para-equestrian dressage championships and has continued to perform well.

Staunton is part of the cycling team that will be competing for Ireland in Rio, and she has been busy preparing for the games by training in Kilcullen over the last number of months.

The games get underway on Wednesday week in Rio, with Baldwin set to be one of the first Irish athletes in action when he competes in the 10m rifle competition.

There has been no shortage of support for the athletes in the build-up, with Monahan generating plenty of attention around his local area.

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