For the first time an Irish team will compete at the European Para Championships taking place in Rotterdam throughout the next two weeks. Paralympian, Padraic Moran, will be the first of the Irish to compete as he continues his quest for vital ranking points towards Paris 2024.
Moran will be the only athlete to taste action in the first week of the competition as he competes in the BC1 category at the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena. Padraic’s competition begins on Tuesday, August 8th when he takes to the court at 5:15pm Irish time. He will then play his final two matches in the group stage on Wednesday in the hope of progressing to the knock out stages at the weekend
Kerrie Leonard, who represented Ireland at Tokyo 2020, will also hope to stake a claim for ranking points towards Paris 2024 when she competes in the Archery event. Kerrie’s competition begins on Monday, August 14th and again in Tuesday with the knock out rounds commencing on the 16th.
Para Badminton will be the third sport to feature Irish athletes at the competition where Leslie Dewart, Ilyas Hussain, Michael Smith and Christopher Stewart will carry Irish hopes in the Para Badminton competition. The badminton players must wait until week 2 before they get to compete and their schedule won’t be confirmed until after training classification on Sunday the 13th.
The European Para Championships are taking place for the first time as ten different Para Sports come to the same venue with ranking points towards Paris 2024 at stake in each sport. Over 1500 athletes from 45 European nations are expected to compete throughout the two weeks of competition which will mainly take place in the Rotterdam Ahoy arena with some of the finals moving towards purpose built central locations to showcase the sports to the public.
European Para Championships Team Ireland
Boccia: Padraic Moran
Archery: Kerrie Leonard
Badminton: Leslie Dewart, Ilyas Hussain, Michael Smith, Christoper Stewart
Week 1 Schedule (Irish Time)
Tuesday, August 8th Padraic Moran, BC1, Rotterdam Ahoy Arean, 5:15pm
Wednesday, August 9th, Padraic Moran, BC1, Rotterdam Ahoy Arena, 10:30am
Wednesday, August 9th, Padraic Moran, BC1, Rotterdam Ahoy Arena, 4:00pm
