Gráinne Murphy Swimming
TOP level sport is a brutal, heartbreaking business. Just ask former Olympian, Gráinne Murphy.
The talented swimmer from Wexford was forced out of the sport in 2016, aged just 22, after illness stymied what had been a glittering career since childhood.
After winning three gold and a bronze medal at the European Junior Championships in 2009 and just missing out on a semi-final place at the senior World Championships in Rome in the same year, Murphy set Irish hearts racing when she won a silver medal in the 1500m freestyle and was just pipped for a bronze medal in the 800m freestyle at senior European Championships in Budapest.
Aged just 17, she was named as the Irish Times SportsWoman of the year.
But things started to go wrong quickly when injury and illness struck in succession. After her European success, she had to undergo shoulder surgery which took her out of the pool for quite some time but she got back in time to qualify for the London Olympics.
Widely tipped to at least reach the final of her favoured 800-metre freestyle there, the University of Limerick student was struck down by glandular fever, which saw her withdraw from all events after struggling in a 400m heat.
Murphy moved to France in 2014 to train but a lung infection in 2015 disrupted her training to the extent that she decided to call time on her career just ahead of the Rio Olympics in 2016. She released a very personal heartfelt statement announcing her decision. ‘I did that because I wanted people to know how sorry I was, how much I’d put in to making it work,’ she told Magazine.
‘I’d always been very private but I wanted to tell people that it was a huge blow to me to have to go out like that.
‘I had amazing memories but it’s tough in professional sport. Any swimmer or sports person will tell you that.’
Happily, Murphy has stayed work
ing in the sports industry. She graduated from UL in exercise and health fitness and has recently been involved in a programme teaching the importance of swimming to children in disadvantaged communities.
Her next stop is joining the staff of Titan Sports Event Management, something she says she’s very excited about.
But before that she’ll be gracing our TV screens as a swimming pundit for the Tokyo games.
‘I’m really looking forward to it, getting the chance to watch all the events is fantastic. RTÉ called me up in 2016 when I wasn’t going to Rio and I loved it so I’m delighted to be back again.’
She says the Olympics are the pinnacle of any athlete’s career.
‘There’s nothing like it, to be part of that elite club. Swimming is a very individual sport but in the Olympic village you just feel like a part of a big community, it’s magic.
‘I’m delighted Tokyo is going ahead. For some of our athletes it will be their first Olympics but importantly for some, it will be their last. And it’s great that this chance hasn’t been taken from them.’