Age: 26
Hometown: Dublin
Club: Raheny Shamrocks
Disability: Vision Impairment
Sport Class: T13
Orla started running with her club Raheny Shamrocks when she was six years old. She was 18 when she made her Paralympics debut in Rio where she qualify for the T13 100m final, finishing eighth. In 2017 she was sixth in the final of the World Championships in London and, a year later won two bronze medals (100/200m) at the European Championships in Berlin.
Orla qualified an automatic slot for Paris 2024 with a 4th place finish at the 2023 Para Athletics World Championships in a final that went to a photo finish to crown first and second place and clocked Comerford’s fourth place only 0.06 of a second away from the podium.
This June, she ran her first legal sub 12 second race, a PB of 11.90 in the 100m final at the National Senior Track and Field Championships in Morton Stadium.
Orla has Stargardt’s disease, a degenerative condition that affects her central vision.
She has a degree in Fine Art Media from the National College of Art & Design (NCAD) and she currently works part time in the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
Schedule:
Day 6 – September 3rd
T13 100m (heat) 10:00
T13 100m (final) 19:08
X: @orla_comerford
Instagram: @orla_comerford
TikTok: @orla_comerford