Ronan Grimes tantalisingly close to securing second medal for Ireland

Galway’s Ronan Grimes came tantalisingly close to securing a second medal for Ireland at the Paralympics in Tokyo but came up just shy in the C4 Individual Pursuit.

The 32-year-old qualified for a tilt at a bronze medal with a personal best time of 4:37.693 in the qualifier but despite leading at the halfway point couldn’t hold off the late surge by Colombia’s Diego German Duenas, with whom he’s had several duels in championships. He lowered his personal best once again to 4.37.001.

Grimes said: “He has a little acceleration at the end that I am lacking. I have come fourth against Diego in I don’t know how many races. The two of us are always battling on the road and the track. It’s disappointing to come out the wrong side of it. But I have to be happy with two PBs, especially in a ride off, when there’s a bit of pressure there for a medal. If I had gone slower I would have said I did wrong but everything I had was out there.”

Also in the Velodrome Richael Timothy produced another super display recording another personal best, this time in C1-C3 500m time trial to finish 10th. She said: “I came to the track to do PB’s, just go faster than I have gone before. I have done that. It is nice to get that over with and I can focus on the road now.”

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Greta Streimikyte, the first of Team Ireland to take to the athletics track, qualified with ease for Saturday’s T13 1,500 metres final and will carry very serious hopes of a second Irish medal at these Games. The reigning European champion finished in second place in her heat behind Ethiopia’s Tigist Gezahagn Menigstu.

Róisín Ní Ríain finished a brilliant fifth in the S13 400 metres freestyle, swimming personal bests in both the heat and the final. That’s three events, three finals. She has a day off today. “I’m going to sleep, sleep and eat and rest and recover and get ready to go again”

Kerrie Leonard began her campaign in the Archery finishing in 18th place with a season’s best score. She will face India’s Jyoti Jyoti who finished 15th in Sunday’s head-to-head match. In the Dressage Michael Murphy and Kate Kerr Horan both made their respective Paralympic debuts but couldn’t get amongst the medals.

Meanwhile Ireland’s Colin Judge saw his Paralympic Games come to an end against familiar opposition in Vladimir Toporkov. The Russian player, who defeated Colin in the qualifier tournament, prevailed 3-1 in sets.

Judge said: “I think there are a lot of positives, they’d be the main things that I’d really take away from the Games is that I really have the ability to play at the top level. You know under such pressure I coped very well with the nerves, the big arena, the lights, the red floor, the people watching, I think I coped very well with that.”