Higgins wishes luck to the Irish dwarf team
competition. Sinéad Keon, who is a member of the team, gave the President his own personalised tracksuit top.
The 15-year-old, from Moyglass, Co. Galway, only started playing sports around 16 months ago, when she joined the Galway Speeders, a sports club for children with a physical disability.
But she has already mastered table tennis and field athletics, which are the categories she will compete in at the World Dwarf Games. Sinéad’s ultimate ambition is to represent Ireland at the Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016 but first her hope is to achieve a place on the winners’ podium in the coming competition.
Sinéad and her 13 team-mates will fly to the States next week for the tournament, which will take place in the Michigan State University from August 3 to 10.
More than 400 athletes from 23 nations and every US state are competing in the games. They began in 1993 with just 10 countries represented and 165 athletes competing.
Assistant athletics director at Michigan State University Rick Atkinson said: ‘In 1983, the first formal organised athletic competition for dwarf athletes happened right on this campus.
‘Now dwarf sports programs are happening all over the world.
‘MSU could not be more proud to welcome those athletes from every corner of the globe back to where it all started.’