Name: Patrick O’Leary
Sport: Canoeing
Hometown: Cork / Galway
Impairment: Amputee
Class: KL3 / VL3
Age: 48
Pat O’Leary became the first athlete to represent Ireland in canoeing at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016 when the sport was added to the schedule for the first time.
Pat, who competed in the LTA K1 class, had a brilliant game in 2016 as he progressed through the heats of the competition to reach the final in which he had an excellent 6th place finish.
Pat works at NUI Galway where he lectures in Organic Chemistry. Originally from Cork Pat now works and lives in Galway with his wife and family.
In 2019 Pat secured a slot for Ireland in Para Canoe thanks to a fantastic 5th placed finished at the World Championships in Szeged, Hungary having secured his place in the final by winning his heat. Patrick O’Leary became European Champion at the Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe European Championships in Poznan -Poland. Racing in the VL3 Final, taking the win in a photo finish, 0.1 seconds ahead of Mosquera.
Pat was canoeing for a long time before losing his leg in recent years. He competes in the K1 class; a 200m straight sprint. The dad of two combines his training with a full-time job in the School of Chemistry at National University of Ireland, Galway. Pat, who is coached by former Irish international Neil Fleming, has been steadily climbing the world rankings.
Pat’s Schedule |
- 200m VL3 Heats & KL3 Heats – 2nd September (Day 9)
- KL3 – 3rd September (Day 10)
- 200m VL3 – 4th September (Day 11)
