A Lucan man who is training for the upcoming Rio Paralympics had his specially adapted car stolen from outside his home last night.
John McCarthy is a wheelchair user whose car is adapted with hand controls to enable him drive it.
He said: "Without this car I am unable to get to work or get to training which is so important to me at the moment as I am trying to qualify for the Rio Paralympics. Hopefully I will get my car back. The adaptions cost me up to €1,000. It is not a nice feeling, looking out the window and seeing your car is gone.”
The Paralympics will be held on September 7- 18 with 4,350 athletes from 176 countries participating. Mr McCarthy, originally from Cork, has been in a wheelchair since the age of 18, when he dived into a river and broke his neck.
In 2004, Mr McCarthy represented Ireland in Athens where he won discus silver. In 2008 he represented Ireland in Beijing.
Mr McCarthy also competed at London 2012, reaching the final of the 100m wheelchair sprint and finished seventh in his new discipline. In 2013, he finished fifth in the IPC Athletics World Championships, Lyon, France setting a personal best. He also competed at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, where he finished sixth in the T51 400m final.
The registration of the Audi A6 is 12-C-11586.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Lucan Garda Station on 01 666 7300.
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