Olympic dreams now for Kelly McGrory

Kelly McGrory now has real designs on the Olympic Games.

McGrory ran as part of the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team in the final of the recent World Athletics Championships in Budapest, finishing eighth.

The Tir Chonaill AC woman went beyond her own aims in Budapest and believes that next year’s Olympics in Paris are possible.

“I would be stupid to say that it’s not a realistic target now,” McGrory told Donegal Live.

“If you asked me a week ago I would’ve been like: ‘oh, no!’ Now, I’m not afraid to say it.

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“My splits on the relay team proved that I actually can run well on a  relay team. I was so happy with my splits.

“I’ll focus on my flat speed more now. I have kind of opened a door for myself now.”

Despite being shorn the talents of Rhasidat Adeleke, who was fourth in the individual 400m final and Phil Healy, the Irish quartet defied the odds to make the final.

McGrory ran the third leg with Sophie Becker, Roisin Harrison and Sharlene Mawdsley also taking to the track. In the semi-final, they clocked 3:26.18 - just 0.12 of a second outside of the Irish record - and went 3:27.08 for eighth in the final.

In the semi-final, McGrory - whose individual PB over 400m is 54.21 seconds - ran a 52.45 leg.

McGrory said: “I completely exceeded my season’s best in the 400m. You couldn’t have predicted that I would run that fast. I was over a second and a half quicker than my individual 400m.

“That will get me through the winter training. The top six girls will be there and I will do everything in my power to stay in the mix now.”

McGrory cut her teeth with Tir Chonaill AC and still represents her home club, although is now based in Limerick, where she is coached by Drew and Hayley Harrison. The group contains some leading lights, including McGrory’s partner Thomas Barr, who was fourth in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

McGrory said: “We have a big training group and it’s a high performance squad.  Everybody mucks in together. It’s not a team sport, but we train together like a team. It has made such a difference.

The 4x400m squad now has real depth with Cliodhna Manning, Niamh Murray and Miriam Daly also in the hunt for places.

Next year will also see the World Indoor Championships in Paris, the European Championships in Rome and the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas. She aims to get to the Europeans for the 400m hurdles.

McGrory said: “I need to be aiming bigger. The aim going into the winter now is to reset my thinking. I’m not a 54 runner anymore and I need to train as if I’m a 52 runner.

“I have targets. There is good opportunities  for me if my speed comes down now, even in the hurdles.

“There is such depth in the squad. I had a really rocky winter and I didn’t set foot on the track until January, but it’s been good since then, though. I had a back injury and it took six months to fully recovery. It hasn’t stopped me this season, but it’s something I manage now all the time. Knowing I didn’t have a good winter and ran well, that will be good for me going forward.”