Katie-George Dunlevy and her pilot, Linda Kelly, have added to their impressive medal haul at the Paralympic Games today.
The pair finished second in the Paralympic Women's B Road Race, securing a third medal for Ireland at the Paris Games. Dunlevy took gold in the time trial with Kelly on Wednesday and silver in the B 3000m individual pursuit with Eve McCrystal last Sunday.
Speaking after the race, Dunlevy admitted that winning three medals this year was an incredible achievement.
"To come away with three medals is amazing. With all the setbacks and everything, it means a lot, so we're delighted," she said. "Lots of celebrations with the family tonight; I'm looking forward to seeing them and celebrating with them.
"I wouldn't really be here without my parents' support over the years when I was a child; I'm just so proud we were able to get a medal in front of them."
Although Dunlevy was disappointed not to come first in the race, she acknowledged that a silver medal was still a satisfying result.
"Yeah, I wanted to win the gold and retain my title, so I'm a bit disappointed, but a silver medal is amazing," added Dunlevy. "It was a tough race. We were up the road with one of the GB bikes, and they refused to do the work, so we were just at the front, trying to attack on each hill, trying to get away.
📢"I wanted to win the gold and retain my title so I'm a bit disappointed but a silver medal is amazing," says Katie-George Dunlevy after finishing second in the B road race.@ParalympicsIRE | @CyclingIreland | #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/QqWBrsy1vg
— Sport Ireland (@sportireland) September 6, 2024
"We just couldn't get away from them, and the other GB bike came back to us a few times. We gave it our all—they're better sprinters than us, and they beat us in the sprint at the end, but we had nothing left after giving so much on the hills.
"So we're delighted; it's a silver medal. We're very, very happy."
Kelly also shared her thoughts after the race, echoing Dunlevy's sentiments and agreeing that silver was more than satisfactory.
"We were just on the front and knew they were behind us; we were pushing but had to ease off as well because we had to conserve our energy for where we were going to attack," she said.
"We did get in front, but in the technical zone, they were just glued to the back of our wheel constantly. We started pushing a bit harder, but they came back, and that's road racing—you just have to keep trying and trying.
"In the end, they got us at the line. We did our best; silver is amazing, and we're happy with that. I'm absolutely over the moon; like I said the other day, I'm delighted."
