Tom Leahy is a

paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

competing mainly in category BC2 Boccia events and F32 throwing events. Leahy competed in eight

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

. He won three Paralympic gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.

Personal life

Tom Leahy is from

Ballyhooly Ballyhooly ()Logainm.ie, an Irish placenames databaseBaile Átha hÚllaVerified 2019-11-07. is a small village in north County Cork situated along the N72 between Castletownroche and Fermoy. Ballyhooly is home to two pubs, a church, community c ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland. He is a painter, and his paintings have been featured in children's books, and he has sold his paintings in exhibitions.

Career

1984 Paralympics

Leahy has competed in eight

across boccia and athletics winning a total of eight medals. His first Games were the

1984 Summer Paralympics The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, canonically the 1984 Summer Paralympics were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes ...

. In the C2 shot put he threw for 9.51 metres, winning the gold medal. He also competed in the C2 club throw, finishing with a result of 18.98 metres. He finished behind and placed second.

1988 Paralympics

In the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially. Bidding proc ...

he won a silver in the shot put and a bronze in the club throw. He also won a gold in the individual boccia. He was the first Irish medalist in boccia. He competed with the Irish boccia team that was eliminated in group play.

1992 Paralympics

In the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

he competed on Ireland's C1-C2 mixed team. They advanced to the semifinal round, where they were defeated by the Spanish team 4–3. They lost to the South Korean team in the bronze medal match, so the Irish time originally finished in fourth place. However, during the medal ceremony the South Korean team protested and threw down their medals. They were disqualified and Ireland was awarded the bronze medal.

1996 Paralympics

The

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympic Games, Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games ...

saw him compete in the team and individual boccia events. In the mixed team C1-C2 competition, Ireland completed pool play with a record of 3–2 and did not advance to the semifinals. In the C2 mixed individual boccia event, Leahy advanced past the preliminary round pool with a 4–1 record. He made it to the finals and lost to Maria Rodriguez of Spain 9–1. He finished with a silver in the event.

2000 Paralympics

In the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

he returned to the track, competing in the F51 club throw and F51 discus. He originally placed second in discus with a throw of 16.05 metres, but was promoted to a gold medal finish when Polish Paralympian Robert Jachimowicz was disqualified for being entered in the wrong class. His throw set a world record. He set a personal best in the club throw but did not finish on the podium.

2004 Paralympics

He stayed in athletics in

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

, competing in the F32 shot put. He finished in seventh place with a distance of 5.96 metres. His was below his personal and season best of 6.48 metres.

2008 Paralympics

He began to train exclusively for boccia due to a hip injury. He competed in the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in the BC2 mixed individuals. He was eliminated in the preliminaries and did not advance to the quarterfinals after his performance in Group B. Leahy lost to Dan Bentley and Risa Kainuma on the first day of competition and defeated Fernando Ferreira on the second, finishing with a 1–2 record. He cited his performance to a headache. After the individual competition, he competed in the BC1-BC2 boccia mixed team event. They defeated Finland and lost to Spain in group play, advancing them to the quarterfinals. They lost to host-nation China 12–2 and were eliminated.

2012 Paralympics

Leahy competed in the BC1-2 boccia mixed team event in the

2012 Paralympic Games The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

. On 2 September, The team lost their first match 14–3 against South Korea. Later that day they lost to Brazil 11–2, ending their tournament. He retired after these Games, his eighth Paralympics.

References