Team Ireland had their first cyclist in action at the Tokyo Games this morning with Richael Timothy taking part in the pursuit
Richael Timothy – C3 3000m Individual Pursuit
Timothy took to the Velodrome for the qualifying rounds of women’s individual pursuit just after 02:15 in the morning. The Irish woman came onto the track for heat three and lined up against Austria’s Yvonne Marzinke.
This race would be made up of 12 laps of the track completing a 3000m race. Most athletes will be going at speeds nearing 40 kilometers per hour. The eight fastest riders would go into a medal race later today.
Timothy had a tough prospect ahead of her after she saw China’s cyclist break the Paralympic record in the C1 category on the first run of the day.
Richael Timothy#TheNextLevel | #Tokyo2020 | #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/QlradWP4JZ
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) August 24, 2021
Timothy started strongly and established a good lead in the opening laps. She flew around the track and by 2000 meters she lapped her Austrian opponent.
She was unlucky that she had to overtake Marzinke on a bend, losing out on some time, making it a longer journey for her.
The Roscommon woman finished the three kilometers in a time of 4:11.699, the fastest at that time and a new personal best for herself. She cycled at an impressive average speed of 42.99 km/hr throughout the race.
Timothy remained in the medal places until the final three heats. These six athletes happened to be very fast with Australia’s Paige Greco setting a new world record with a 3:52.283 time.
The Irish woman finished in ninth place overall only a few seconds off the top eight. Timothy still has a busy Paralympics ahead of her and will next compete on Day Three in the C1-3 500m Time Trial.
Richael Timothy will kick things off for Ireland in Tokyo in the early hours of the morning (02:00am) as she competes in the 3000M Individual Pursuit.
Timothy will be competing in four events at the #ParalympicGames and is a real contender for some podium positions! pic.twitter.com/XoCQtRYYqS
— Her Sport (@HerSportDotIE) August 24, 2021
