The athlete who worked as a bricklayer to be in the Olympics

When you know the story of Irish Kieran Behan, you can say that he is not a lucky person - or maybe even so, but what really strikes him is his willingness to participate in the Olympic Games.

17 years ago, Behan heard from a medical team that he would never walk again because of a tumor that, when removed from his thigh, eventually damaged some nerves in the area. "The doctors said 'you will never walk again' and I had to go to a psychiatrist who said 'you have to accept the worst' but that just motivated me, " said the athlete, who always wanted to prove to doctors that they They were wrong.

After the tumor was removed, Behan was in a wheelchair for 15 months. At school, he was bullied by his classmates, who called him a cripple. “That was hard for me because I was already doing gymnastics and I was short and doing a 'girl sport'. So I would often sit by the window in the kitchen and watch all the kids running in the park and playing soccer, ”he said, who just wanted to be a“ normal kid ”again.

Highs and lows

At 14, he finally managed to walk again, but ended up injuring his head during a bar workout. The accident caused some neurological problems and took him out of training for another 3 years.

Today, Behan is 27 years old and still goes through some blackouts from time to time, but is now called a "miracle" by the medical staff who takes care of his case.

Back in training, the young Irishman just wanted to be able to participate in the Olympics and did everything, really, to realize his dream and come to Brazil. With financial difficulties, he accepted to clean gyms where he trained and used buildings and everyday objects to practice his jumps.

Achievements and more difficulties

In 2010, he was able to participate in the European Championship, but eventually broke the ligament in his left knee - again, he was not demotivated: “I had been through the worst and knew it; no matter what happened, I could always recover, ”he said.

In 2011, he won three medals and won his place at the London Olympics. About the experience of going to the English capital, he says he felt like living a dream. Now, at the 2016 Olympics, Behan got his place, although he was nowhere near the podium - victory for him goes beyond receiving a medal.

In one of the tests he injured the same knee that had already been broken, but performed until the end anyway. The key here was to value their participation in this edition of the Olympic Games. As in Ireland gymnastics is not a very common sport, Behan did not get sponsorship and had to work to raise money and come to Brazil.

“I went to hell and came back”

Next to his father, Phil, the athlete worked as a bricklayer and performed heavy tasks: “The body hurt, but I needed to keep believing. It was the only way to go to the gym and to realize the dream of reaching an Olympics again. I went to hell and back, ”he said in a statement published on the BBC.

“All I wanted was a chance to fulfill my solo fall-free routine. I've been through a lot in my life that made me wonder if it wasn't worth doing something else. But you would not have forgiven me if you had not tried, ”he added.

Without enough money to bring his family together, Behan came to Rio alone to attend the Olympic Games. Unfortunately, he left the Olympic facility using crutches because of his injured knee. Although concerned about his future as an athlete, the Irishman says he has learned not to despair over bad news: “You always find something positive and any situation, ” he said, who improved 15 places in his 2016 position compared to the London result.