Article Updated: 2.40pm
Drumkeen cyclist Mitchell McLaughlin was in action on day one of the Paralympic Games this afternoon, piloting Waterford’s Damien Vereker to a personal best and a new national record.
Despite the strong performance, Vereker and McLaughlin finished in seventh place in the heats, which wasn’t enough to qualify for the medal race.
The powerful Irish pair finished 4:14.817 in heat 6 of the Para Cycling Mens 4000m Individual Pursuit.
McLaughlin and Vereker were overtaken by French pair Alexandre Lloveras and Yoann Paillot who topped the board.
The final takes place at 16:04 at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome.
McLaughlin and Vereker’s schedule includes the 1000m time trial on day 4, an individual time trial on day 7, and a road race on day 9.
This is McLaughlin’s first Paralympic Games, while Vereker represented Ireland at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio where he finished in 8th place.
As a tandem pilot, McLaughlin (26) is the sighted cycler at the front steering the bike and communicating vital visual information to Vereker (44), the stocker behind.
