Mark Rohan in one of ‘Sky Sports Scholarships’ promo shots
Ireland’s paracycling double world champion Mark Rohan has landed a scholarship from ‘Sky Sports’ under a programme designed by the broadcaster to support potential Olympic champions.
Most of the recipients are British. However, Irish boxer Katie Taylor has also been rewarded with a bursary following her dominance at World and European championships level in recent years.
A total of 12 athletes – nine aiming for the Olympics and three for the Paralympics next year - have been selected for financial backing by Sky Sports.
Among the British athletes selected are: swimmer Mark Tannock, a world and commonwealth champion and world record holder in the 50m backstroke; Perri Shakes Drayton, the first woman ever to win gold in a British athletics championships at 400m and 400m hurdles; and Euan Burton, who is ranked 4th in the world at his weight in judo and is a former world No 1.
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Rohan has been chosen following his two world title wins in the H1 handcycling road race and time trial in Denmark in September.
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Last month he also picked up the prestigious International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) athlete of the month award.
The award is regarded as being very prestigious because all paralympic athletes from all sports globally are eligible to win.
Rohan, a 29-year-old from Ballinahown in Westmeath, beat British rower Tom Aggar, US cyclist Allison Jones, Germany’s women’s wheelchair basketball team and Britain’s men’s wheelchair basketball team by picking up 74 per cent of the vote on Facebook for the award.
Rohan won the H1 road race at the 2010 World Championships before taking two golds at September’s World Championships.
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.
This year he created paracycling history becoming the first ever athlete to win six World Cup gold medals in a row on his way to winning the 2011 UCI Paracycling Road World Cup in Canada. He is Ireland's first ever Paracycling world champion.
