If Cork para-triathlete Donnacha McCarthy makes it to this year’s Paralympic Games he will be cheered on in person by someone who is prepared to put in an equally heroic physical effort to get there. Dave Tilly, who was McCarthy’s first guide in the sport, had a surprise for him on Wednesday when they were reunited at a special Paralympics Ireland event to mark six months to the start of the Games (August 28th-September 8th).
“I told Donnacha that if he makes it to Paris I will cycle to see him,” revealed Tilly (59), who cycled 1300km across the Atlas Mountains last year and is currently sporting a sling after breaking his collarbone in the same event recently. When McCarthy first took up triathlon in 2018 it was Tilly who taught him to swim; a terrifying challenge for a blind athlete. They formed a special bond and their partnership only ended because Tilly felt he was holding him back.
“We were at a World Cup in Sarasota, Florida, lying second behind a Japanese pair. Donnacha’s first World Cup win was just a fingertip away but I had no more to give. He was pulling me along, I was devastated that I had held him back and told him then he needed a younger guide.”
Tilly had better start checking the route from Le Havre to Paris because McCarthy and his guide, Sean Husband from Monaghan, are currently ranked 10th in the world, which is just inside the qualifying mark. But with four months of qualifying races left he’s not willing to leave his Paralympic debut to chance.
“Our first race of the season is a World Cup in Abu Dhabi on March 8th and then we’re on to Tasmania and Australia for the World Series races, which carry the most points,” said the 33-year-old data engineer from Drimoleague. “Our plan is to do as many of those as we can and climb further up the rankings. I just missed out [on qualifying for] Tokyo, this year it feels a lot more in my control.”
Para-dressage rider Sarah Slattery, from Galway, is equally hyped about the increased proximity of the Games and her chance to debut. The Grade V rider was one of the riders who secured Ireland a Paris team spot at last year’s European Championships, just five months after giving birth to her second child.
“With Paris so close everyone is very excited, especially as the equestrian venue is Versailles, which is just stunning. There’s about 11 of us battling for the four places but that’s great. The level in para-equestrian has just exploded in the last four or five years.” Slattery’s family is willing to make big sacrifices to help her achieve her Paralympic dream. “Whatever it takes,” said her husband Jonathan Madden of Sarah and baby Millie moving to Amsterdam next month to optimise her training and competition opportunities while he and their 14-year-old daughter stay working and studying in Galway until the Summer.
“I can’t just say I’m heading off now. There’s four of us involved,” Slattery stressed. “We sit down and talk about it with our oldest daughter. For us, everyone in the family is involved in this ‘Road to Paris’.”
