Sport

Paralympic medallist Niamh McCarthy announces her retirement

Cork athlete took home a silver medal in the F41 discus at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games

Rio 2016 discus medalist Niamh McCarthy has announced her retirement from the sport. Photograph: Tommy Dickson/Inpho

Nathan Johns
Thu Oct 28 2021 - 11:34

Paralympic discus silver medallist Niamh McCarthy has announced her retirement from the sport. The Cork athlete competed at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, winning her medal in the F41 event at Rio.

After debuting in 2013, McCarthy secured her first international medal by winning bronze at the 2015 European Championships. She has since added a bronze and silver at subsequent World Championships.

McCarthy is the reigning European champion having won that title earlier this year. Her appearance at Tokyo during the summer was the final one of her career.

“Now is the right time for me to step away from the sport having competed on the biggest stage in Tokyo one last time” says McCarthy.

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“I have loved every minute of it, I have made great friends, seen some wonderful places and reached heights that I could only imagine when I turned up to a talent ID day back in 2013.

“I am now going to concentrate on my own life and career away from the throwing circle but I will always have a keen interest and love for Paralympic Sport.

“I want to thank all of those that have supported me on my journey in sport; my family, friends, coaches, Paralympics Ireland, Sport Ireland and so many others, I think that I have given you all some good memories, I know I will take a lot of great memories away from my time as a high performance athlete.”

Dave Malone, high performance director at Paralympics Ireland paid tribute to McCarthy: “Niamh McCarthy has had an excellent career as one of the very best discus throwers in the world. She has achieved on the biggest stage at multiple European and World Championships along with winning silver at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

“Paralympics Ireland will now work closely with Niamh to help her transition away from sport and provide all the supports that she may need for her next chapter.’’

Niamh Mccarthy