Irish Paralympian Greta Streimikyte is using Ciara Mageean for inspiration as she gears up for another crack at success at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
The Lithuanian-born Irish athlete has been blown away by Mageean's 'amazing' achievements in 2022.
In the space of less than a month, the 30-year-old Portaferry flyer won silver at both the European and Commonwealth Championships, before she smashed Sonia O'Sullivan's long-standing 1500m Irish National Record.
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"It’s amazing, we watched all the championships that she was running in, and we just saw that she was on fire," Streimikyte said of Mageean.
"For me, it is so amazing to see that because I enjoy watching an athlete’s journey, and she had a journey, not everything was easy. As an athlete, we all have some tough times, times when we don’t run as well as we want to.
"She had such an incredible breakthrough. It’s just amazing and it is so positive to see and take learnings, and it’s a great reminder as an athlete that we need to be patient and put in the work.
"I always personally believe that hard work pays off and Ciara Mageean is a great example of that."
Just like Mageean, much was expected of Streimikyte in Tokyo last summer. Having finished fourth at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, she had gone from strength to strength and won gold medals at the 2018 and 2021 European Championships.
But at the 2021 Paralympics, the 27-year-old failed to perform to her best and ultimately missed out on a medal after finishing fifth in the 1500m final. Despite this disappointment, Streimikyte is determined not to let this define her.
"I developed my thinking about athletics of it being a journey. Hopefully, I’ll try to make Paris as part of the Games and maybe another Games after that.
"That is my journey. One performance or one outcome does not determine what type of athlete I am."
Streimikyte is well used to fighting through adversity. Born prematurely as one of a set of triplets, she contracted retinopathy and today has sight only in her left eye.
As a child, she left her home country of Lithuania to join her father in Ireland. For many, this would be a tough experience, but for Streimikyte, looking back, she feels as though she took to Ireland like a duck to water.
"It’s been 12 years now, so I feel like the more years that pass the easier I think it was. You forget if there were any tough parts," said the 27-year-old.
"As much as I can remember I was always very excited to come to Ireland. I was always excited by something new and seeing how things go. Maybe for my family it was harder, maybe for my friends it was harder because I was leaving.
"I had my brother and my sister, so we were as triplets, we were all in the same boat and I think we supported each other through it. I think that made it easier. "
As a youngster, Streimikyte's potential was spotted by her PE teacher. After twisting her arm to give athletics a try, Streimikyte soon became hooked. She joined her local running club shortly after, a decision that she now feels helped her adapt to her new home.
"For me personally, I can 200% say that running made me adapt to the culture in Ireland much quicker because that allowed me to meet new people."
That feeling of community follows Streimikyte on tracks all over the World.
"I always joke around and say that when we go to different training camps and meet athletes from different countries, English might not be the language that we can communicate freely in, yet 20 minutes later we’re still jogging together.
"There’s just something about sport that just joins people together."
Even to this day, Streimikyte gets the same enjoyment out of hitting the roads as she did when she first laced up a pair of running shoes. Having come to the sport relatively late as a 17-year-old, the two-time Paralympian speaks glowingly about how much sport helps her keep a clear mind.
"Sport in general I think it is important to have in our lives. Sport brings so much.
"I enjoy doing my runs, because that’s my time to clear my head and think through things. I get really motivated and after it, I feel great."
In a few weeks, Greta will return home to Lithuania for Christmas to spend time with her family back home. For many elite athletes, Christmas is a time when discipline is pushed to the limit. But for Streimikyte, her Holiday plans revolve around one thing: Food!
"To be honest as an athlete, when it comes to food, in Lithuanian traditions we have a lot of food at Christmas. That is a massive Lithuanian tradition, so we celebrate on Christmas Eve.
"That means 12 dishes on a table for each month of the year, so I take it as an eating opportunity!"
*Greta was speaking at the launch of the Goal Mile which is sponsored by AIB and is celebrating its 40th year. To register for the GOAL Mile see www.goalmile.org*
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