Tully Kearney wins her second gold of the Paralympic Games
Tully Kearney made sure her difficult road to the Paris Paralympics was made worthwhile with a stunning second gold medal in the pool.
The 27-year-old swimmer, from Aldridge, suffered a head injury last year that left her in an 18-month battle to make the start line in Paris.
She had to give up her Masters degree and lost all motivation for training, while also successfully appealing a decision to reclassify her for these Games.
But she followed up winning the S5 200m freestyle on Thursday by retaining her title in the S5 100m freestyle on Friday afternoon.
“It’s been a lot to cope with,” she told Paralympics GB after her first gold on Thursday. “It was really hard with the concussion and then the last three or four months it’s been hard with the mental health issues.
“To be able to get here means a lot to me. Even a few weeks ago we weren’t sure if I was going to come out and compete or how many events I would do.
“I wanted redemption and I’m just absolutely ecstatic and a bit speechless. I don’t think anything could stop me from winning gold, it would have to be really bad to.”
“To be able to get here means a lot to me. Even a few weeks ago we weren’t sure if I was going to come out and compete or how many events I would do.
“I wanted redemption and I’m just absolutely ecstatic and a bit speechless. When I got in that pool, I didn’t think anything could stop me.”
She came from behind in both finals – overhauling Ukraine’s Irina Poida by half a second to upgrade her silver in the S5 200m freestyle from Tokyo. And she did the same again in the S5 100m freestyle, springing off the wall to finish fast – beating Poida again, this time by two seconds.
“[It’s] pretty incredible,” she told Channel 4. “I was a bit concerned about this one. To retain my title means everything to me.”
On a quick turnaround after winning gold yesterday, she added: “It was such a late night and early start and not long in between to rest. It was really hard for all of us who swam last night to keep the energy up.
“This crowd is incredible. Because I am the first event tonight, there’s way more people here than there were yesterday. They gave me that big push.”
The mayor of Walsall, councillor Anthony Harris, extended his congratulations to Kearney.
He said: “This marks yet another Paralympics triumph for Aldridge’s very own 10-times world champion!”
“After finishing fastest in the qualifiers earlier that day, Tully has now upgraded her silver from Tokyo 2020 to a glittering gold in Paris 2024. Despite the challenging journey, Tully has made us incredibly proud.
“Tully is a true hometown hero, and we are all cheering her on as she competes in her upcoming events at the Paralympics. Let’s hope for a gold rush ahead!”
Kearney is back in the pool for the S5 50m heats on Tuesday.
