Who is Orla Comerford? What you need to know about the Paralympic sprinter
Murphy/sportsfile Harry Picture: Orla Erford
Orla Comerford is a sprinter from Dublin. She was born in 1997 and was involved in sports from a young age, but athletics was always her favourite.
She began running with her club, Raheny Shamrocks, when she was just six years old.
When she was in 5th class, Comerford began losing some of her eyesight. She was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, which is a degenerative condition that affects her central vision.
This did not stop her sporting ambitions, however.
She made her Paralympics debut when she was just 18 at the 2016 Rio Olympics. There, Comerford qualified for the T13 100m final, finishing eighth.
In 2018, she won a bronze medal at the European Championships in the 100m and 200m, before going on to represent Ireland again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This year, the sprinter won a bronze medal at the Paris Paralympics in the S13 100m. Comerford ran 11.94, just 0.04 shy of her personal best, as she claimed a podium place.
Comerford qualified for the 2024 Paralympics after finishing in 4th place at the Para Athletics World Championships in 2023. She was just 0.06 of a second away from third place.
Along with Colin Judge, Comerford was one of Ireland's flag bearers at this year's Paralympic opening ceremony through the streets of Paris.
When she’s not running for Ireland, Comerford works part time in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, having earned a degree in Fine Art Media from the National College of Art and Design.