Orla Barry secured Ireland’s third medal of the 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships on Monday in Grosseto, Italy, when she took home gold in the F57 Discus final.
Barry had to keep calm and focused during a competition which saw some good throwing from Bulgaria’s Ivanka Koleva and Germany’s Martina Willing, but as the Irish athlete was last up to throw, she knew exactly what she needed to do to take home gold and went on to throw a fantastic Personal Best distance of 31.18m to ensure her place at the top of the podium.
MEDAL ALERT! Ireland's Orla Barry has won GOLD for Ireland at #Grosseto2016 in F57 Discus final #MoreThanSport pic.twitter.com/48nWk1eI16
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) June 13, 2016
The win marked Ireland’s third medal of the Championships, with Deirdre Mongan securing bronze on Saturday in the F53/54 Shot Put final while fellow Cork athlete Noelle Lenihan took home gold and set a new World Record in the F38 Discus final on Sunday.
Speaking about yet another fantastic performance from the Irish squad, National Throws Coach Dave Sweeney said: "This is yet another great result for the Irish squad and it also shows how much Orla has come on, particularly in the last few months."
"It was a brilliant, brilliant performance and, as you can see from the results, she was way ahead of her competitors, so it was even better that she was able to lift her performance so much. She was looking to send a message out to the rivals she could be facing in Rio and she’s certainly done that! She is extremely happy, but feels she has more to give still. We're delighted."
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