Proud Paul pulls in a world title in China
BALLYCLOUGH MAN WAS AT TUG OF WAR INDOOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
WHAT started out eight years ago as a “bit of fun” when Paul Hogan rolled up his sleeves and took part in a tug of war competition in aid of Ballyclough NS soon catapulted into a serious hobby and now a world title.
This week, Paul (40) from Ballyclough laughed at the memory and said he only got involved in the field pull as it was all in aid of the local school. However, soon afterwards he joined his local club, Cuan Rithe, and while he spent some time doing outdoor tug of war events it was in-doors that he found his niche and stuck to it.
All of his hard work and countless hours of dedication saw him return from China recently with a gold medal as part of the Mountain View club from Westmeath, which represented Ireland at the championships.
Already the holder of two bronze medals, Paul, along with his team mate Ronan Casey from Tipperary, were travelling up to Westmeath up to three times per week to train with the squad. Ronan also returned home to Cahir with a gold and a bronze medal.
Paul, who is a carpenter, is the first Cork man to ever win a world medal at indoor tug of war.
His dad, Martin, was this week beaming at his son’s achievement - Martin also plays an active role in the local Cuan Rithe club. Cuan Rithe has also won numerous accolades over the years and are very much on the map when it comes to skill and dedication.
Paul explained to The Corkman it can take four or five years for a participants to “get their hands right” for tug of war. “The grip on the hands can go so it can take up to five years to build your hands up,” he said.
He said winning in China was a “big experience” and remarked that they had beaten a Chinese Taipei team, which can consist of large colleges where up to 8,000 students “study the tug of war”.
“It was really great to go to China and a lot of work went into this. For many weeks and months we would have spent up to 10 hours driving to work with clubs and to practice. I also spent a good amount of time running,” said Paul.
When he was taking part in the championships in China, his wife, Louise, and family members Dylan, Darragh, Evan and Rhea along with many friends were cheering him on while watching it on live stream at home.
Martin Hogan said a special word of thanks must go to Matt Casey’s gym in Ballyclough where all the hard, pre-season work was undertaken.
Paul is now gearing up for the next World Championships which will be held in Ireland in 2020.