Éamonn Byrne is an Irish

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

, who has represented his country at the Para-cycling Track World Championships.

Early life

Éamonn Byrne grew up in

Darndale Darndale ( meaning ''daffodil'') is an area on the Northside of Dublin, in Ireland, featuring a high concentration of social housing. It is located in the north of the sprawling suburb of Coolock. Darndale lies within the Dublin 17 postal distr ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, the eldest of five children. He played soccer and participating in athletics, where he won medals for sprint events. After schooling he became a Dublin-based

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

(police) officer and began rowing for the Garda Rowing team. At age 26, he changed sporting focus to cycling.

Cycling career

In May 2013 he was diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an u ...

. He had a successful medical treatment, returning to cycling within 3 months. In 2014 he won silver medals in both the sprint and

keirin – literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gamblin ...

and topped off his comeback by becoming Irish National Sprint Champion in 2015. In 2018, he was part of a track tandem (with Martin Gordon) representing Ireland at the Para-cycling Track World Championships, and which set a new national record with a time of 10.539 seconds, qualifying as sixth fastest bike and progressing to the final match sprint.

Records

Byrne is co-holder of three Irish national para-cycling records, at two distances in flying-start sprinting, and one distance in standing start.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Eamonn Year of birth unknown Darndale Irish male cyclists Rás Tailteann winners Dublin Wheelers cyclists