Big injury worry for Katie-George Dunlevy ahead of Paralympics in Paris

There was a big setback for Katie-George Dunlevy in Olympic year as she suffered a serious injury at the weekend in a UCI World Cup paracycling event in Maniago, Italy.

The paracyclist, whose father John is a native of Mountcharles, suffered a broken collar bone when a front wheel puncture brought about a fall in the road race on Sunday for her and her tandem partner Eve McCrystal.

The setback comes just two weeks after Katie-George and Linda Kelly suffered a fall in the road race in another World Cup event in Belgium, which left Kelly injured and Katie-George suffering bruising.

On Sunday in Italy, the mishap came when Katie-George and Eve were alongside the British pair of Unwin and Holl, among their biggest competitors on the road in recent years. The two bikes had pulled well away from the rest and were going to be fighting out the finish until the Irish pair’s mishap.

After picking up a spare front wheel, Katie-George and Eve cycled to the finish, despite being in severe pain and racing on cobblestones, and finished fourth.

On Friday, in the Time Trial, the Irish pair had finished in second place in a race that was reduced in length due to weather conditions. 

Katie-George returned to Ireland on Monday and is due to have surgery on her shoulder in the next few days. It is expected that she will be out of action for up to six weeks, which puts a dent in her preparation for the Paris Paralympics, but knowing her determination, she should be back and ready to defend her title.