Richael Timothy closed off Team Ireland’s para cycling events, finishing in 11th place in the Women’s C1-3 Road Race.
The Roscommon native put in a strong performance on the 56.8km course in Clichy-sous-bois. Crossing the finish line with a time of 1:48:47, just over three minutes away from the top 10.
“It was just so hard, any bit of an incline at all with the one-sided injury, is just so hard” explained Timothy.
“My goal was just stay on them for as long as I could; so I kind of had to chase back after both of the hills, three or four times, and I just couldn't keep doing it. I did nearly two laps on my own, I didn't want to give up.”
“It's great to have people here watching. It's been really good the last two weeks and to show them, I'm not going to give up. I'll see what next year brings.”
Reflecting on her performance, Richael said; “I'm just not at the level I need to be at to be aiming for medals. So I just did the best I could and hopefully that's good enough for now. I think I'll do it next year, and then I'll see how I'm fixed”.
“A few things I need to change going forward, I'm just so slow in comparison to the team. On camp, you're just getting your ass handed to you every time, so I think we just need more people of my standard as opposed to people with four legs.”
Richael shared her excitement for Team Ireland’s achievements throughout the Games, “The girls have been amazing - not just cycling - athletics & swimming too. The lads are here but the girls are really showing them how it’s done!”
