This article is from page 9 of the 2009-06-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
DOOLIN’S reputation at the Olym- pic Games was bolstered yet again last week as 18-year-old John Dun- leavy took gold at the Special Olym- pics held at the Harvard University campus in the USA.
John now follows in a growing tradition for Olympians from north Clare including Marie O’Connor, who has won a number of medals for the village at the Transplant Olym- ee
Teenager John collected his gold medal in a swimming event but he also took part in the Tae Kwon Do competition as well as in the aca- demic arena.
John is the son of Gerry and Toni Dunleavy who moved from their native Doolin to live in America a number of years ago. John’s eight- year-old brother Michael passed away in 2002 follow a childhood or lilo
Each year the Annual Michael Dun- leavy Charity Walk in Doolin raises tens of thousands for cancer research both in Ireland and in America.
Speaking after his win, John thanked all of his supporters for coming to see him compete and ex- pressed his hope to win another med- al at the next games.
John competed in two swimming events, the 25-metre freestyle and the backstroke.
‘He participated in the backstroke, but didn’t place. He tried his best
which, frankly, is very good. When he first started, he couldn’t do the length of the pool,” said Gerry Dun- leavy after the event.
‘He was in Harvard University for the opening ceremonies on Friday and stayed overnight in the dorms,” Gerry said. “There were about 30 people in the bleachers cheering for John, between family and friends, and some were holding signs.
“Like most athletes, he was nerv- ous getting into the water and at the start of the swim he was behind. He then saw his friend Tom DeFranzo at the finish line. John said he just fo-
cused and swam as fast as he could and ended up winning.
“The whole experience was very heartwarming for the whole fam- ily and John’s friends. It was also a huge reality check for all of us to witness the determination, pride and perseverance shown by the various participants.
“Win or otherwise, each participant seemed to be just so happy to be in- volved.”