{"id":515430,"date":"2026-06-24T03:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T03:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/515430\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T03:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T03:14:15","slug":"i-have-been-lucky-enough-to-achieve-more-than-i-ever-imagined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/515430\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I have been lucky enough to achieve more than I ever imagined\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two-time Olympian and European relay medal winner Phil Healy has announced her retirement from international athletics at age 31. The Cork sprinter had competed on the senior championship stage for the last 14 consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n

Popularly known as the \u201cBandon Bullet\u201d, Healy made history in 2018 by becoming the first Irish athlete in over 40 years to hold both the national 100m and 200m records simultaneously, retaining them for several years. She also set a new benchmark for Irish sprinting by becoming the first Irish athlete to break the 23-second barrier in the 200m.<\/p>\n

Mixing up events over 100m, 200, and 400m, she won 17 national sprint senior titles, between indoors and outdoors, becoming one of the most successful athletes in Irish sprinting history.<\/p>\n

Healy also played a role in more than a dozen national relay records across women\u2019s and mixed relay events, most memorably at the Paris Olympics<\/a> in 2024, where the Irish women\u2019s 4x400m finished just outside the medals in fourth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been the greatest honour and privilege to represent Ireland over the past 14 consecutive years,\u201d said Healy. \u201cAthletics has given me memories that I will cherish forever, friendships that will last a lifetime, and opportunities I could only have dreamed of as a young girl joining Bandon AC.<\/p>\n

\"PhilPhil Healy takes the baton from Rhasidat Adeleke in the final of the women\u2019s 4x400m relay at the Paris Olympics. Photograph: Morgan Treacy\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced so many special moments throughout my career. From breaking Irish records and winning national titles to becoming a two-time Olympian, competing in Olympic finals and standing on a European podium with my relay team-mates, I have been lucky enough to achieve more than I ever imagined.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, I have had the privilege of working with and learning from some truly remarkable people. No athlete achieves success alone, and I am deeply thankful to everyone who has been part of my journey. In particular, my family, friends, my coach Shane McCormack and his family have played an invaluable role in my development and success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile my competitive career may be ending, my connection to sport will always remain strong. I look forward to supporting my team-mates and watching athletics continue to thrive and grow both in Ireland and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Healy became the first Irish woman to compete in three track events at the same Olympics at Tokyo 2020, lining up in the 200m, 400m and mixed 4x400m relay. That mixed relay team went on to make history by becoming the first Irish relay team to reach an Olympic final. Healy was also part of the women\u2019s 4x400m relay that won silver at the 2024 European Championships in Rome.<\/p>\n

\"Ireland’sIreland\u2019s Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley celebrate winning silver medals in the 4x400m relay final at the 2024 European Championships in Rome. Photograph: Morgan Treacy\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Healy would again help make history at Paris 2024, playing a key role in Ireland\u2019s women\u2019s 4x400m relay which finished just 0.18 seconds off bronze. She also finished fourth in the 400m at the 2021 European Indoor Championships.<\/p>\n

Healy has endured some injury and illness in recent years, including a thyroid issue know as Hashimoto\u2019s disease, which severely restricted her training and recovery.<\/p>\n

Athletics Ireland president Br\u00edd Golden paid tribute in saying: \u201cPhil has been a trailblazer for sprinting in Ireland, inspiring a generation to believe in what is possible on the world stage will be her lasting legacy. Phil has played a central role in transforming Irish sprinting, particularly through her contribution to our relay success, and her impact will be felt for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two-time Olympian and European relay medal winner Phil Healy has announced her retirement from international athletics at age…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[16640,61,60,112],"class_list":["post-515430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-athletics-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}