COMERFORD Orla

Ireland

Athletics

Date of Birth: 14 Sep 1997

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Sport Class: T13

Place of birth: DUBLIN

Birth Country:

Ireland

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Women's 100m - T13

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 100m - T13 Round 1 - Heat 3	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
8	100m - T13	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	12.87
World Championships
6	100m - T13	2017	London, GBR	12.58
European Championships
3	100m - T13	2018	Berlin, GER	12.82
3	Women's 200m T13	2018	Berlin, GER	26.76

Hobbies:

Art. (Athlete, 20 Aug 2018)

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Education, Media Studies, Visual Arts - National College of Art and Design, Dublin, IRL

Languages spoken:

English, Gaelic

Club name:

Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club [Dublin, IRL]

Debut:

2016 for Ireland, Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Athlete, 20 Aug 2018)

Injuries:

In 2019 she underwent surgery on her left ankle. As a result of the issue she did not compete for nearly three years between 2018 and 2021. (paralympics.ie, 16 Aug 2021)

Start:

She began the sport at age six at Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club in Dublin, Ireland. "As a kid I kept up multiple sports including basketball, gymnastics, tennis and more but around the age of 15/16 I decided in order to achieve what I wanted to in athletics I would need to put all of my time and focus there, and that's what I did." (Athlete, 20 Aug 2018; caracentre.ie, 06 Sep 2020)

Reason:

She began training with her mother's friend, who was a coach at the Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club in Dublin, Ireland. "When I was younger I always wanted to tell people I wanted to be a runner when I grew up but I never really believed it. I knew people would say I could do it but I never thought I could. I couldn't see the marks in sailing, and in tennis I couldn't see the ball, so those fell away. But athletics was always my passion. I was always such a sporty kid and no one was like, 'You're not able to do this anymore'. I loved athletics so much, I was willing to put in the work and face the challenges I came up against." (caracentre.ie, 06 Sep 2020; rsvplive.ie, 29 Nov 2018; independent.ie, 11 Oct 2017; the42.ie, 03 Sep 2016)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (Instagram profile, 10 Aug 2021)

Memorable:

Competing at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (caracentre.ie, 06 Sep 2020; Athlete, 20 Aug 2018)

Hero:

Irish Para sprinter Jason Smyth, Irish hurdler Derval O'Rourke. (Athlete, 20 Aug 2018)

Influence:

Coach Brian Corcoran. (Instagram profile, 17 Aug 2021; Athlete, 20 Aug 2018)

General Interest

Classification
T13, F13 (IPC, 19 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (Athlete, 12 Jul 2017)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 20 Aug 2018)

Impairment Details
Her eyesight began to deteriorate in 2009 due to Stargardt disease. "The impairment is genetic and affects my central vision. Weirdly, even when you go back four generations on both sides of my family, no one else had it, it's just one of those things." (Athlete, 12 Jul 2017; the42.ie, 03 Sep 2016; independent.ie, 11 Oct 2017)

General
STUDY BREAK
In 2018 she decided to take a break from her degree at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland, in order to focus on making it to the 2020 Paralympic Games. "With college, I'm in a four-year course so after third year [2018/19] I'm taking a year off college. Because no one's going to get a degree and make it to Tokyo." (paralympics.ie, 16 Aug 2021; rsvplive.ie, 29 Nov 2018; punditarena.com, 20 Sep 2018)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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