Dr Michael McKillop MBE

Dr Michael McKillop MBE is a 4 Time Paralympic Gold Medallist, 9 Time World Champion and Multiple World Record Holder. Michael was diagnosed with a disability called Cerebral Palsy, at 2 years and 10 months after his parents fought for more tests to be given as they knew something wasn’t right. This was not going to hold back this young man.
Michael McKillop is one of Ireland’s most successful elite sportsmen. At the tender age of 18 he won his first Paralympic Gold medal in the T37 800m in the Iconic Birds Nest stadium in Beijing, China. He then stole the show at the London 2012 Paralympic Games where he not only retained his 800m crown, but also won the 1500m for his category, setting a World and a Paralympic Games Record to boot. Michael has went on to compete at two further Paralympic Games in Rio 2016 winning gold in the T37 1500m, and more recently Tokyo 2021 where he announced his retirement from Paralympic sport at the age of 31.
In addition, McKillop did compete in able-bodied athletics and is a former Irish National Junior men’s Cross country champion and was the team captain of the Irish team for the IAAF European cross country championships in 2009, Michael became the first Paralympic athlete to represent his country at an IAAF cross country championships. He was also the Irish Under 23 able-bodied 1500m champion on the track in 2011.
Since retiring from competitive athletics, he has started up his own coaching business helping athletes take their performances to the next level across all distances, while also delivering High Performance workshops within the corporate sector.