I always had this attitude of: ‘I’ll figure out a way to make it work’
PATRICK FLANAGAN — SWIMMER
WHEN he was in school, Patrick Flanagan’s alarm used to go off at 5.30am when his mum would drive him to his swim sessions at Longford Swimming Club. He’d swim for two hours and be on the school bus for 8.15 am.
Swimming was not something that ran in the family and Patrick was introduced to it at the age of eight by two boys in his class. He never looked back and now the 23-year-old UCD economics and finance student is hoping to compete in a final at this year’s Paralympics in Tokyo.
“From my parents’ point of view, they weren’t bothered if I was good or not. They were keen for me to get involved and enjoy it,” says Patrick.
A life-long wheelchair user, Patrick says he’s never let his disability stop him from doing what he wanted to do, something that was instilled in him at an early age by his parents Siobhan and Kevin.
“I always had this attitude of ‘I’ll figure out a way to make it work’,” he says of dealing with things in life. “Many times I had my friends carry me up stairs. My mum used to say, ‘If you’re not doing something, it’s because you’re not trying hard enough’. It was basically no excuses,” he says.
He also realised that in life there were times when you have to ask for help and that’s what friends are for. Having big brother Sean also motivated him and his motto was, ‘If he can do it, I can do it’.
With the build-up to the games underway, Patrick is clocking up seven or eight two-hour pool sessions and numerous gym sessions to be as ready as he can.
Despite restrictions, the National
Sports
Campus is open to elite athletes to train and
Patrick joins other Paralympic swimmers to train.
And as the training increases, he’s focused on not letting the thoughts of competing on the biggest stage in the world faze him. “I think at the end of the day, it’s just a swimming pool. I’ve swum 400 metres thousands of times in my life. It’s all about knowing you can do it,” he says.
For the last two years, everything has revolved around college and swimming. The highlight of his swim career to date came at the European Championships in 2018 in Dublin, his first big competition.
While he missed a medal by .18 of a second, it still ranks as one of the best days of his life with his family proudly watching on from the stands.
“The big thing when you’re training so much is to make sure you’re getting enough fuel in. You can over-analyse but I know I need to eat enough and recovery is a massive thing,” he says.
Patrick acknowledges that Covid-19 has presented students with lots of difficulties, but he says he’s been lucky to have good people in his life to talk to.
“I’m hopeful I’ll make it to Tokyo. Beyond that, I’m looking forward to starting a career.
I’d like to combine my sports experience with my financial knowledge from my degree,” he says.
‘Im hopeful I’ll make it to Tokyo. Beyond that, I’m looking forward to starting a career’