Inspirational Athletes – 5

Vince Lombardi quotes are often used to motivate athletes, so too quotes from Muhammed Ali. Two of the most used relate to when you get knocked down you must get up.

Lombardi famously said “Its not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” While Muhammed Ali said “You don’t lose if you get knocked down, you lose if you stay down.” Which is definitely the case in the sport of boxing.

One athlete in recent times who was floored more than once but continued to get up was Irish gymnast Kieran Behan.

Behan was born in Croydon in London in 1989 to Irish parents. From an early age he loved gymnastics, but at the age of ten – some sources say 11 – he faced a huge set back. A benign tumour was found in his leg.

He had an operation to remove the tumour, but unfortunately this didn’t go as planned and he suffered nerve damage which confined him to a wheelchair. A time that resulted in him being teased at school and cruelly labelled a cripple. Yet fifteen months later this determined individual was back training for gymnastics.

Fate then dealt him another cruel blow. At training one day while working on the horizontal bar he had a freak accident and hit his head. The blow to the head resulted in a brain injury, as well as damage to his inner ear which affected his balance and co-ordination skills, two things crucial to a gymnast. As a result he was back in a wheelchair.

He had to relearn basic movement skills such as moving his head. Doctors told him that he may never walk again that his gymnastics dreams were over. He however had other thoughts and was determined to prove them wrong. He was unable to train for three years.

However he did return, and competed in junior tournaments.

Moving into the senior ranks he had a lot of ground to make up and in 2010 things were shaping up well, but then misfortune struck again. Behan ruptured his Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right leg. He recovered from that frustration and then just six weeks before he was due to compete in the European Championships he ruptured the ACL in his left knee. This was to have been his first senior competition representing Ireland.

With an eye on the London Olympics of 2012 he needed to have a successful 2011. Yet there were more obstacles to overcome. He did not receive funding from the Irish Sports Council or Gymnastics Ireland, so had to raise the money to attend European competitions himself.

He had a fantastic year winning three World Cup medals during the Challenge World Cup Series. This was an unprecedented achievement for an Irish gymnast. He won bronze on the floor in Slovenia in the September, and a month later won silver, again on the floor in Croatia. In November, he won gold on the floor, in the Czech Republic. The first Gymnastics Gold medal ever won by an Irish competitor.

In January 2012 at the London Prepares Olympic Test Event, he qualified for the Floor Exercise final, and finished in fourth place. That result saw him qualify for the London Olympic Games.

That made Kieran just the second Irish athlete to compete in gymnastics at an Olympic Games. Barry McDonald, was the first when he qualified for the Atlanta games via a wildcard in 1996.

Despite his qualification resulting in funding and sponsorship, London was not to be the dream event that everyone hoped. Behan slipped twice during his floor routine and failed to qualify for the final. He was understandably disappointed.

Four years later and he had qualified for the Rio Olympics, was this where he would have the fairytale end to what had been an incredible journey?

He had come through the various men’s events, the pommel horse, the rings, the vault and both sets of bars, and with just his pet event to come, the floor, he had an outside shot at making the all-around final.

He executed his first tumble and to those watching nothing appeared untoward. However the truth was Behan had dislocated his left knee on landing. As he said after completing his routine, “It’s one of those things. As soon as my feet touched the ground on that first tumble and the knee went, I just knew that it was about survival and just getting through the rest of the routine.”

Many would have stopped and limped off the floor, but not a man like Kieran Behan.

There may have been no medals, no fairytale final to enjoy, but this was a triumph of the spirit and once again proved that you don’t always need medals to be a champion.

It was fellow gymnast and USA Olympic Gold medallist from 1984 Mary Lou Retton who said that “a trophy carries dust, memories last forever.” Never was this more true that in Kieran Behan’s case.

As Behan said after the disappointment of the Rio Olympics, “I think, for me personally, with my journey that I’ve had and the troubles I’ve had, this Games, for me, was about proving myself as an athlete. I know coming away from this, and in a few years’ time or whatever, I know I’m going to be very, very proud of what I’ve done here.”

He then said “If I’ve inspired anyone out there, then that’s what I’m going to be so proud of. To have gone out there and give it my all, you can’t really ask for much more.”

Kieran Behan may not have stood atop the podium at the Olympic Games but his courage and determination will hopefully be talked about for years to come, and his story will hopefully continue to inspire and make many future athletes and non-athletes facing challenges realise that dreams can still come true!