Look no further than Blackrock for a hero

WITH the Rio Olympic Games just kicking off, all the worlds sport lovers will cast their eyes towards the events in South America, salivating at the prospect of a world spectacle that happens only every four years.

Of the multitude of events that will occur over the duration of the games none will be more eagerly watched than the track and field events. The chance to watch Usain Bolt or Mo Farrah on the world stage is captivating.

There are plenty of glamorous track and field events that tempt people into giving them a try but shot putt wouldn’t be one of them. Flinging an iron ball from under your chin as far as you can rarely has the same X factor as the 100m.

There are probably not a lot of famous shot putters you could name and perhaps fewer still in Ireland’s illustrious career in track and field competition but there is one name that you will most likely start to hear more and more.

Aoibhin McMahon throws the shot putt. With all the myriad of events to choose from, Aoibhin ignored conformity and chose shot putt. The Blackrock AC member competes in the U14 category and, she and her accomplished older sister Shauna are coached by their dad John who has nursed their talents to the point where both compete at the highest level.

Now it’s not just that Aoibhin competes at a national level, she dominates it. She competed in three national events this year, the Indoor championships, the All-Ireland Schools championship and last weekend the Outdoor championship. She won them all.

She broke the national records in each competition. Her own.

So when we look at the TV over the coming weeks and see our heroes compete, we should not forget that we may not have to look all the way to Rio to see heroes and get inspiration. It’s a lot closer than you might expect.