Standing on a podium together for the final time, Eve McCrystal reached out for Katie-George Dunlevy’s right hand and in unison they punched through the muggy air inside the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Vélodrome. Having spent 10 years beautifully in sync, there was no point changing the habit of a sporting lifetime right at the very end.
On Sunday, in their last ride together as a tandem pair, they claimed their sixth Paralympic Games medal, winning silver in the B 3,000m individual pursuit to sit alongside the two golds and one silver won in Tokyo, plus the one gold and one silver mined from Rio. Both cyclists will also compete on the road later in these Games but they will not be on the same bike. This was the end. Sunday brought the curtain down on one of the great Irish sports partnerships, and it ended in a very un-Irish way – successfully.
Having earned a place in the gold-medal race with one of the best rides of their storied career during the qualifiers, they subsequently led for much of the final against Britain’s Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holly. Dunlevy and McCrystal still had their noses in front after 2,000 metres, but the British pair delivered a storming finish to reel in the Irish duo over the closing laps and win by 2.166 seconds.
Dunlevy and McCrystal posted a time of 3:21.315, with Unwin and Holly coming home with a 3:19.149 after an epic final. But there was no dejection from those in green afterwards. If anything there was gratitude they got to go out on such terms, racing all the way to the line. When it was over the Irish pair circled the velodrome on a lap of honour before embracing family and friends at the side of the track.
Gold would have been great, but the colour of the medal was almost incidental. A podium had seemed beyond them leading into the event. Dunlevy had suffered a broken collarbone in May and there was an unspoken sense in cycling circles that perhaps their halcyon days had come and gone. And yet, here they were again. Punching upwards, the only way they have ever known.
“We’re like sisters, we fall in, we fall out, we have a lot of respect for each other,” said McCrystal, who at the age of 46 is retiring as a Para pilot after these Games. What they have achieved together will ultimately outlast both of their careers. On and off the track, something special happened in their fusion.
“We have gone through some really tough times together,” added Dunlevy. “You don’t really go through that with anyone else, really, we know what we have gone through and what they are giving, and mentally and emotionally what they have gone through. “There are times when we have been training individually but we always come back together and we know we have been training hard at home. “And we have a special bond which we will have forever, those memories and special moments, nobody else will know what that feels like except for me and Eve.”
At the end of the podium presentation, they again clenched hands and waved to the crowd. “We’re 10 years together, it took us a few years to get to the top,” added McCrystal. “It’s really hard to get to the top and it’s fricking harder to stay there. You have so much pressure. I don’t think we ever felt external pressure from people but it was pressure that both of us felt to stay there. That’s just so hard to do as an athlete.
“When the two of you are together you constantly don’t want to let each other down so you’re fighting every single day – that’s the fight for the last three years coming out there in a medal. “We’ve always just trusted each other. Even with her collarbone, I was like, ‘She’ll be back.’ Collarbone, whatever.” At that, she smiles over at Dunlevy, who returns with a knowing grin. After a crash during a road race in Italy in May, Dunlevy required surgery and raced on Sunday with four pins and a plate in her left collarbone.
She drags her top down off her shoulder to show the scar. “I could get them removed, but I don’t know,” she added. “At first when I did it, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I really didn’t know [if I’d make Paris]. But then I just thought, ‘It is the arm, I didn’t break my hip or my leg’. I could still pedal with one arm, so I just got on with it. It could have been worse.” It could hardly have ended much better.
The Power of Partnership
McCrystal and Dunlevy’s success on the track is a testament to their unwavering commitment to each other and their sport. They have faced numerous challenges, including injuries and setbacks, but have always persevered as a team. Their bond is more than just a partnership; it’s a deep connection that has allowed them to achieve remarkable feats.
“It’s really hard to get to the top and it’s fricking harder to stay there,” McCrystal remarked, emphasizing the immense pressure they faced as they strived to maintain their top-level performance. However, they never let the pressure fracture their partnership. “We’ve always just trusted each other,” McCrystal said, highlighting the foundation of their success. Their trust in each other, coupled with their mutual determination, has driven them to new heights, earning them a place amongst Ireland’s most successful Paralympic athletes.
A Legacy of Inspiration
McCrystal and Dunlevy’s impact goes far beyond their remarkable achievements on the track. They have become icons of perseverance and inspiration, showing that with dedication, commitment, and the right support, anything is possible. Their journey serves as a testament to the transformative power of sport and the human spirit, proving that even in the face of adversity, dreams can be realized.
Their story will continue to inspire future generations of athletes, and their legacy will live on long after they have hung up their cycling jerseys. As they move forward, McCrystal into retirement and Dunlevy onto the next chapter of her career, they leave behind a legacy of inspiration and achievement that will forever be etched in the annals of Irish sports history.
Farewell to a Golden Era
The final whistle has blown on a golden era in Irish tandem cycling, and with it, a new chapter is about to begin for both McCrystal and Dunlevy. Their shared journey, marked by triumphs and challenges, has created a narrative that will forever be remembered in the Irish sporting landscape. The future may hold different paths for these two extraordinary athletes, but their combined legacy of dedication, perseverance, and sportsmanship will continue to inspire generations to come. As they move forward into their respective futures, they leave behind an indelible mark on the sport, a legacy that celebrates the power of partnership and the indomitable spirit of the human soul.
