MARTINA McMahon of Broadford HC was the stand-out performer at the World Wallball Championships, seamlessly hosted at the University of Limerick across last week.
In the early days of competition, McMahon – a native of Croagh – emerged a comfortable winner (over Myohwa Hwee, USA) of the Small Ball title and towards the close of the event she claimed success in the Open Single at her alma mater.
Here she was a convincing winner over Fiona Tully of Roscommon, a final watched by a full-house of 1,000 spectators.
The 29-year-old’s very participation in sport, never mind at the highest level was thrown into serious doubt 18 months ago following a serious back injury.
After the back surgery, it was a long road and there was talk that I’d never play again,” she admitted.
“Mentally, it was tougher than any physical pain from my back and I just felt the last couple of weeks that all my ducks were in a row. I just felt good, it’s probably the best the back has been.”
“It’s nearly like a dream, I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” she confessed.
“In 2018, I had a clean sweep of all the major events but after coming through this, this one supersedes it. Look, I’m back now, I’m feeling as good as ever and long may it continue.”
McMahon is no stranger to victory on the world stage, having previously won the title of World Singles Champion in 2018.
Wallball is the fastest-growing version of traditional handball with a significant presence across the UK, mainland Europe UK, and America.
There were a total of almost 900 entries descending upon Limerick for the championships, with leading players from Ireland, the USA, Canada, France, the Basque Country and Japan among other nations represented.
Other notable winners included 22-year-old New Yorker Nazir Marston in the Men’s Open Singles, who also romped home in the Men’s Open Doubles with Tywan Cook. In the U19 final, Kilkenny’s Kyle Jordan took home the title, while Cork’s Cian Dunning won the U17 singles and Kevin McGrath became another double winner with the U15 and U13 Singles titles.
In the women’s grades, Tiffany Lau Wu (USA) won the U19 final, Laura Duff (Tyrone_ won the U17, and Lucy McCulagh (Tyrone) was champion in the U15 competition. The U13 was won by Nina McBride of Antrim.
