Niamh McCarthy secures second silver in discus for Ireland

Niamh McCarthy secured Ireland’s second silver of the day in the discus as she fought off stiff competition from the Tunisian pair of Fathia Amaimia and Samar Ben Koelleb in the F41 class with a throw of 26.67.

It was another Tunisian, Raoua Tlili, who took the gold in a thrilling final which saw McCarthy move between second and fifth place before her penultimate throw catapulted her back into the medal reckoning.

“Since Niamh emerged onto the para athletics scene in 2013 she has made remarkable progress”, said Sport Ireland Kieran Mulvey following tonight’s final. “In her first major championships last year she won a bronze medal at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, before going onto win silver in the European Championships earlier this year.

“In what is Niamh’s first appearance in a Paralympic Games, I would like to congratulate her on an impressive performance, and also congratulate her coaches, support staff and Paralympics Ireland on another success in Rio.”