A young athlete from Donegal with dystonic cerebral palsy has spoken of her recent achievements at the Women’s World Cup and ambitions of competing at the 2028 Paralympic Games.
Elsie Friel (17) is an athlete who participates in GAA, triathlon and soccer, and played for the Irish soccer team that finished third place in the 2024 Women’s Cerebral Palsy World Cup. She recently won the GAA Silver Gaisce award to mark her community service and athletic achievements.
Friel is a young person with plenty of ambition, balancing being a student at her school in Letterkenny, three different sports and also learning Spanish outside of school. This includes training to compete at the 2028 LA Paralympic Games, something she says the thought of gives her the “drive forward”.
“I want to go places with my triathlon, and compete in big competitions like the Paralympic Games. That’s what I think of during those hard days in training and in the cold winter months.”
Alongside Friel’s own drive is a support system of family and friends that spur her on to achieve what she believes in.
“Both my mum and dad have been both so motivating and are always encouraging me to do well, which in turn motivates me to do well for them. My friends always take an interest in my training as well, asking me how I’ve got on.”
Competing in three different sports at the same time means that Friel is constantly on the move, but this isn’t something that bothers her. GAA firmly remains a focus for her, often volunteering at St Mary’s Convoy, and on top of this takes frequent trips to Dublin to train in soccer.
“I train every day, sometimes twice a day. I never get a rest”, she laughed. “Maybe once every ten days.”
Alongside the Irish soccer team, Friel beat Japan 6-1 to achieve third place in their first time competing at the world cup, which she described as an “amazing experience” while picking up a bronze medal.
Her mother, Natalie, has also spoken about her daughter, saying since being born with her disability, she has “never let it get in her way”.
“She doesn’t let her disability affect her day to day life because she is just so motivated and determined. She’s such a confident young girl, who doesn’t let anything get past her, and she hasn’t since day one.”
“We don’t see Elsie as any different. To us, Elsie is just Elsie. She’s always been treated the same, and that’s because we’ve pushed for her to be treated the same as that’s what she wants.”
“She’s always been a confident girl, but sport has definitely helped her with her self-esteem. She competed in able bodied events when she was younger, but now with para-events, she’s able to compete and win.”
Alongside this year’s women’s world cup, Friel also won the European Nations League last year in Denmark with the same team. Natalie said seeing her daughter play sport on the international stage makes her “immensely proud”.
“It’s a great achievement for anyone to represent their country, and for her it’s no different.”
