Vision Sports Ireland collaborates with Athletics Ireland to deliver Visually Impaired/Blind athletics opportunities at both participation and elite level. Athletics is a group of sporting activities that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking.
Athletics is the sport which Vision Sports Ireland was founded on in the late 1970s in Ireland. There is a rich history of blind and vision impaired athletes participating both home and abroad.
Paralympics
International Paralympic (IPC) Rules apply which facilitate adaptions including guide runner/walker partnerships for lower vision athletes. Blind and vision-impaired athletes have a proud history in Paralympic competition to date winning 8 gold medals: Carol Carr, 400m, New York 1984; Bridie Lynch, discus, Atlanta 1996; Jason Smyth, 100m and 200m, Beijing 2008; Jason Smyth, 100m and 200m, London 2012 and Jason Smyth, 100m, Rio 2016.
Track and Field
Track and Field disciplines range from the 100m sprint to Marathon as well as long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put, discus and javelin. Events which are not included in the Para-Athletics schedule include the hurdles, steeplechase, hammer and pole vault.
Guide Running
Vision Sports Ireland alongside our partners at Athletics Ireland have collaborated to create our Guide Running Training course, which provides standarised guide running workshops which provides graduates with the knowledge and skills to guide a visual impaired athlete to achieving their athletics goals.
If you are interested in our next workshop, please contact Sean
Contact
Vision Sports Ireland, NCBI, Whitworth Road, Dublin 9.
Phone: 01 4056030 | Email: visionsports@ncbi.ie
