Sure, is it any wonder the Whelan clan are having celebratory dinners left, right and centre over in Austria…?
Sure, hasn’t their golden girl, Lorraine, done the country proud once again at the Special Olympics Winter World Winter Games, picking up silver on Tuesday, and now, today, Thursday, picking up a gold medal too.
Of course, Lorraine has a habit of picking up Olympic medals, as the 2009 pic to the right – with proud parents Brendan and Marie – proves.
Each win is a whole new ball game though – or, you know, ski race, to be more precise.
And Lorraine has proven herself to be one of the finest in the world yet again, with an incredible 111 seconds combined in this afternoon’s two runs in the Slalom finals, the Delgany girl crossing the line first each time. The rules are a little tricky though, and straight after the race, sister-in-law Wen explained to the Guide that ‘there’s a 30% leeway‘ – Â which means that, should Lorraine’s time prove ‘too fast, she might be disqualified‘.
Yep, we don’t quite understand that either. All we could do was wait and see what the judges thought…
And so, we waited.
And waited…
Finally, the judges came back with their decision. Lorraine Whelan has won gold at the Special Olympics World Winter Games!Â
Big congrats to Lorraine, and the Whelan clan, and all her Team Ireland gang. Plus, of course, the Kilternan Karvers, of which Lorraine is a member.
We’ll hopefully get a chance to chat with Lorraine once she’s back on Planet Éire. And her feet are back on the ground.
You can catch our report on Lorraine’s Tuesday win right about here.