BORMIO, Italy, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Ireland's Cormac Comerford finished Saturday's Olympic downhill in last position of skiers who finished the race but he was still happy with his Games debut on one of the world's toughest downhill slopes and is certain that his country will be too.
"I'm sure everyone at home is buzzing, I've been getting so many messages," Comerford said.
The 29-year-old has not had an easy time joining the world's most elite skiers on the Olympic stage.
The mechanical engineer from Kilternan finally made his dreams of competing in the Olympics come true after three previous attempts, supported by crowd-funding when the cost of safety equipment became too much for him.
IRISH SUPPORT
Not only is Comerford certain that pubs in Ireland will have been screening his Olympic debut, he has also time and time again bumped into his compatriots while competing in winter sports - most recently in Bormio.
"When we first walked up here for the first training, when I first walked into the restaurant, I got a tap on the shoulder and he said, 'You Irish? I'm the fella who's actually piecing the slope,'" Comerford said. "He's a fella from Wexford, which is a small county in Ireland."
And this is not unusual.
"Two seconds later, another guy on the Canadian team walked up to me and said, 'Ah, you're Irish as well,'" he said, "So we're everywhere. We're all over the place."
After a fall on Wednesday's training run on the treacherous Stelvio slope, Comerford said he was relieved to have made it down in one piece on race day.
"My debut on the Stelvio, I'll take it," he said, "I'm really happy with how I managed these four days with the training, the official training, and the race today. It wasn't the perfect run, but I can be pleased overall."
Comerford is set to race inthree more events at Milano Cortina with the super-G next up on Wednesday before the slalom, his preferred discipline.
"I'll be pushing hard to try and gain some places in the slalom. Top 30 will be a big achievement for me," he said.
(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier in Bormio, editing by Ed Osmond)
