Noelle Lenihan is doing her country proud.
The Cork teenager claimed gold at the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) Athletics European Championships on Sunday evening and set a new World Record in the process.
Lenihan threw a massive 32.14m on her first attempt in the F38 Discus final which set the tone perfectly for her march toward gold.
“She did great, and we’re really happy,” National Throws coach Dave Sweeney said. “She was very controlled, and to be honest, she has been throwing further than that the last few days in training so she’s a little bit disappointed that she didn’t throw further today! There was a tricky wind, which blew a lot of the discs down so it was a fantastic for her to throw so well in those conditions.
“This is a really big step in her career – to break a World Record and win a European Championships in one go and to then be a little bit unhappy with the performance is the sign of a good mindset and a sign of more exciting things to come in Rio!
“She will come away from today having learned a lot, she had very good competition there so she was pushed to the very end and we’re delighted for her.”
Lenihan’s gold was Ireland’s second medal of the Championships, the first of which came when Deirdre Mongan secured bronze in Saturday’s F53/54 Shot Put final.
The signs are certainly promising for Ireland’s Paralympic hopes in Rio
