Michael Gerard McKillop (born 27 January 1990 in

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

) is an Irish middle distance runner. He competes in the T37

disability sport classification Disability sports classification is a system that allows for fair competition between people with different types of disabilities. Historically, the process has been overseen by 2 groups: specific disability type sport organizations that cover mul ...

, as he has a mild form of

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

. He won the 800m title at the 2006

IPC Athletics World Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

, clocking just over 2:02. and he represented Ireland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, winning a gold medal at the T37 800 m clipping almost three seconds off his previous mark as he strode to an emphatic win in 1:59.41. His time was a Paralympic record. McKillop won the 800 m title at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in world-record time of 1:58.90, he also set a 1500 m world record but was not awarded a medal because of the lack of entries. in the London 2012 Paralympics, McKillop won gold for the men's 800 meter t37 with a time of 1:57.22; this was a world record. He won the 1500m T37 race in the 2012 London Paralympics. The medal was later presented to him by his mother, Catherine McKillop, an ambassador of Procter & Gamble. He defended his 1500m T37 title at the 2016 Rio Paralympics securing the gold medal once again. He is coached by his father Paddy, who was awarded ''Northern Ireland Sports Coach of the Year''. McKillop has a personal best in his preferred 800 metres of 1:57.22. In 2012, McKillop was awarded the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award. McKillop was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to disability awareness and athletics in Northern Ireland.

Personal life

McKillop works as a fitness instructor and motivational speaker. He was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

with the Class of 1993. McKillop also has been diagnosed with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

since 2004 and has spoken publicly about his experiences with the condition.

References

External links

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Michael McKillop
at Paralympics Ireland (profile 1)
Michael McKillop
at Paralympics Ireland (profile 2) {{DEFAULTSORT:McKillop, Michael Paralympic athletes for Ireland Paralympic gold medalists for Ireland Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Cerebral palsy-category Paralympic competitors Track and field athletes with cerebral palsy Sportspeople from Ballymena 1990 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics World record holders in para-athletics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Members of the Order of the British Empire Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Irish male middle-distance runners Athletes from County Antrim People with epilepsy 21st-century Irish sportsmen

Personal life

See also

References

External links