Ireland's Ellen Keane claims that the state broadcaster RTÉ can vastly improve its coverage of the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles 2028.
The Irish Paralympic team won six medals over the nine days of the games, and RTÉ broadcast the events on its television station, radio, and online platforms. In total, they showed 104 hours of the Paralympics, while the Olympics, held before it, saw 250 hours of live coverage on the same platforms.
Keane, who won two Paralympic medals for Ireland during her career, believes that the state broadcaster should do more to promote Ireland's Paralympians for the next games in four years' time. The Dublin swimmer added that visibility is vital to show what disabled athletes can achieve.
"The amount of hours that RTÉ showed the Paralympics compared to the Olympics—during the Olympics there was constant coverage on RTÉ 2, and for the Paralympics, you had to go onto the RTÉ Player," said Keane, speaking to the Mirror as an ambassador for Paralympics sponsor Allianz this week
"So there are little things where you're like, "OK, come on, we need to get on the same level because the Paralympics are parallel."
"We're only going to get there if everyone gets on board and really respects us as athletes and believes in the movement; that's the whole point of the Paralympics.
"It is a high-performance sport, but it's about visibility and showing what people with disabilities can do. Yeah, it's been good, but it can always be better."
Paris , France - 26 August 2024; Ellen Keane of Ireland during a training session at the Paris La Défense Arena in advance of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)Keane also believes that education is key to building a better Irish Paralympics team in the future. The 29-year-old added that cutting corners is no longer an option.
"Paralympics Ireland have a really good development programme, a pathway programme coming through that they’ve had over the past few years," said Keane.
"So that's how we get there; we don't get there by lowering standards. We get there by educating coaches and the staff who are working with these athletes. You just don’t cut corners—you make people better."
After competing in events such as the 100m breaststroke (SB8) at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, as well as the World Championships in Madeira (2022), Manchester (2023), and Montreal (2013) in both the 100m breaststroke (SB8) and 100m butterfly (S9), Keane just missed out on another medal this year to add to her collection. Shortly after, she decided to retire from her sport.
Speaking on her retirement, Keane admitted she knew she was ready to leave the pool for good after reflecting throughout the year.
“I knew I was ready to move on, and I need to figure out who I am, what I like, what I’m going to do, "she added to the Irish Times
“I guess I’ve always had to put that on hold while my swimming career was ongoing. I was probably ready to retire after the Europeans [in April], and even the last few months, in the build-up to Paris, were quite difficult. It’s been five cycles, and I was really, really tired. I think physically my body could keep going, but mentally I couldn’t.
Keane added that she was happy with the career she had in the end.
“I’m just really, really glad I held on because it’s such a privilege to represent your country at such a high level. And the feeling I had in Paris wasn’t the competitive performance feeling that I’ve always had at every Games. In Paris, I just felt so content, so happy, just living in the moment.”
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