Michael Gerard McKillop (born 27 January 1990 in
Ballymena
Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim.
The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
) is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
middle distance runner. He competes in the
T37 disability sport classification
Disability sports classification is a system that allows for fair competition between people with different types of disabilities.
Historically, the process has been overseen by 2 groups: specific disability type sport organizations that cover mul ...
, as he has a mild form of
cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
.
He won the 800m title at the 2006
IPC Athletics World Championships
The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...
, clocking just over 2:02. and he represented
Ireland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Republic of Ireland, Ireland competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. Ireland sent 45 athletes, competing in 9 sports. The country's flagbearer at the Games' 2008_Summer_Paralympics#Opening_ceremony, opening ceremony was Patrice Dockery ...
, winning a gold medal at the T37 800 m clipping almost three seconds off his previous mark as he strode to an emphatic win in 1:59.41. His time was a Paralympic record. McKillop won the 800 m title at the
2011 IPC Athletics World Championships
The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Ove1000 athlet ...
in world-record time of 1:58.90, he also set a 1500 m world record but was not awarded a medal because of the lack of entries. in the London 2012 Paralympics, McKillop won gold for the men's 800 meter t37 with a time of 1:57.22; this was a world record. He won the 1500m T37 race in the 2012 London Paralympics. The medal was later presented to him by his mother, Catherine McKillop, an ambassador of Procter & Gamble. He defended his 1500m T37 title at the 2016 Rio Paralympics securing the gold medal once again.
He is coached by his father Paddy, who was awarded ''Northern Ireland Sports Coach of the Year''. McKillop has a personal best in his preferred 800 metres of 1:57.22.
In 2012, McKillop was awarded the
Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award
The Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award is named after South Korean Dr. Whang Youn Dai, who contracted polio at the age of three. She devoted her life to the development of paralympic sport in Korea and around the world. At the 1988 Paralympic Summe ...
.
McKillop was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2020 New Year Honours
The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...
for services to disability awareness and athletics in Northern Ireland.
Personal life
McKillop works as a fitness instructor and motivational speaker.
He was inducted into the
Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame
The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made ...
on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
with the Class of 1993.
See also
*
2012 Olympics gold post boxes in the United Kingdom
To commemorate British gold medal winners at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, various post boxes in the home towns of the medal winners around the United Kingdom, plus one each on Sark and the Isle of Man, were repainted gol ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKillop, Michael
Paralympic athletes of Ireland
Paralympic gold medalists for Ireland
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Cerebral Palsy category Paralympic competitors
Track and field athletes with cerebral palsy
Sportspeople from Ballymena
1990 births
Living people
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
World record holders in Paralympic athletics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Irish male middle-distance runners