The Waterford student took home three world medals.
Hayley Fitzsimons has achieved something pretty class. The Sports Scholarship student who represented Waterford AC in the 7th World Dwarf Games in Canada this year, took home three silver medals.
The Waterford Institute of Technology student won in Discus, Shot and Javelin. She was one of 9 Irish athletes who secured 17 medals at the world’s largest sporting competiton for dwarfs in August.
When I ask 21-year old Hayley how she feels about her win, her elation is evident. "The experience is something else. The friends, the connections, the achievements, competing on a level playing field. I can't even explain what it feels like. It's brilliant. I miss it - I'd love to go back and do it all again."
Has she always dreamed of getting to the World Games? "Yes it's something else. My parents and my sister are an average height - there's no one else with dwarfism in my family. So when I go to the games, it's the other way around, the average height people are out of play, if you get what I'm saying."
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In 2009, Hayley attended the World Dwarf Games in Belfast as a spectator. On participating she says: "I felt I was a bit young at the time and if I'm honest, I clung to my mother a bit. I loved being there though and was sorry I didn't participate." Hayley eventually gave sport a go and says she hasn't looked back since.
After travelling to Dáil Eireann to petition for funding for the Irish team earlier this year, Hayley and the other athletes received €9,000 in government funding, which went towards the cost of competing in the games in Canada. For this, she says she is "grateful" and hopes that in the future, more funding will be available if the athletes represent Ireland again. WIT also contributed towards Hayley's costs for Canada.
Hayley credits the people around her for her achievement, in particular her family, friends and WIT. Without their support, she says: "I don't think I'd be where I am today."
