In Episode 12, I had the honour of sitting down with Michael McKillop, Irish International Runner and Paralympic Champion three times over.

After discovering at a very young age that he had cerebral palsy, his parents actively encouraged him to live a full and happy life and at the age of 5 received his first pair of spikes. Sounds like he was destined to run as his Dad is a PE Teacher and also his coach. Michael has gone on to have an incredible running career and is now a very decorated athlete. He had an unbeaten streak from 2006 all the way until last year in 2019.

The unique thing about Michael is that he competes as both an able-bodied athlete most of the year but also as a para-athlete. He was the first disabled athlete to represent his country at an IAAF Euro Cross Championships. His main distances are 800m and 1500m.

Michael shared his journey with me where his paralympic journey started in 2005 and went on to win two silver medals at the European championships. At the age of 16 he went on to win his first title and broke the 800m World Record for the first time.

In 2008 Michael went to the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. He's since had the opportunity to go to two further games and was due to be in Tokyo this year. We chat about the postponement and what that means for his future running career. 

You can find Michael on social media @teammckillop 

http://www.michaelmckillop.co.uk/