Mark Rohan may have been the star of London 2012, winning two golds for Ireland. But he is out of next year's Rio Games.
Ireland’s hopes of taking a gold medal away from Rio 2016 have been dealt a major blow with news that Mark Rohan has bowed out.
The double gold medal winner from the London Paralympics in 2012 has confirmed a reworking of the UCI paracycling categories has led to his decision to bow out of going back to the Games in search of more glory.
He told his local Westmeath Independent newspaper he had now decided to pursue studying full time and will take on an MBA course at the Real Madrid University in Spain.
The 34-year-old won gold in both the H1 category road time trial and road race in London.
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However, he has told journalist Adrian Cusack in the Westmeath Independent that after the UCI made changes to the paracycling categories he was now in a group of riders whose power output he could never hope to match.
And having always planned to compete in Rio and then do his MBA in sports management, he has now simply brought forward his study plans by 12 months and will forego the Paralympics.
Mark Rohan became money in the bank at major championships and when London 2012 came around he was Ireland’s poster boy; bagging two gold medals (Photo courtesy Cycling Ireland)
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“I was reclassified last year at the 2014 World Championships after they re-jigged the categories in 2013 to allow another category enter,” he said.
“I contested the decision as I was always borderline with my injury and unfortunately I just fell the wrong side of the classification cut off this time.
“The decision of the UCI was to keep me in the new H3 division, and this effectively ended my hopes of competing in Rio as in my educated experience of racing, and the power outputs required to compete, it’s physically impossible for me to compete with the best H3 cyclists.”
While he had been informed by the UCI it would examine the matter again, this would not happen until after the Rio Paralympics.
He came to cycling after a motorbike accident in 2001 put an end to his footballing career when it left him in a wheelchair.
He had represented Westmeath footballers at U21 level but has now emerged as Ireland’s best ever paracyclist, despite only starting paracycling in 2007 and embarking on his international career in 2009.
He first tried wheelchair archery, table tennis and basketball. He is a former captain of the Irish wheelchair basketball team and aside from his double gold in London 2012 has also been world champion and has dominated the UCI World Paracycling Cup.
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