Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal were spent but they knew they gave it their all. There's a certain satisfaction in that.
The added bonus came a few minutes after they crossed the finish line - the Irish Paralympians claimed gold for their supreme efforts.
Dunlevy, who was diagnosed with the hereditary eye disease Retinitous Pigmentosa (RP) at the age of 11, and pilot McCrystal finished 33 seconds ahead of Japan to win the B tandem time trial.
Before the pair headed for Rio, Dunlevy told The Irish Times, "We are going for medals. We are not going to make up the numbers."
They are coming home with gold.
https://twitter.com/ParalympicsIRE/status/776197760244744193
It was a brilliant day for the Irish in Rio as Eoghan Clifford claimed gold in the C3 time trial event, Colin Lynch won a silver medal Ellen Keane captured bronze in the SB8 100m Breaststroke Final.
All that being said, the absolutely marvellous moment of a memorable day was when Dunlevy and McCrystal were informed that their efforts were good enough for gold.
