Fans can't get over Peruvian sprinter with Irish surname who competed at the u20 Worlds last week, as Bianca Conroy caught the attention of Irish people everywhere.
Clips of the young athlete were circling around social media as people reacted to the rare sight of seeing someone who carries a last name like 'Conroy', has an obvious Irish complexion, but whose first language is Spanish.
Everything, right down to the mannerisms are that of a Peruvian nature, but the Irishness is clear to see, and it's fair to say that the young athlete now has a big fanbase in Ireland.
According to World Athletics website, the Peru native is 17 years old, and has high ambitions of succeeding in the world of sprinting.
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There is no mention of her links to Ireland, apart from her surname, but that was enough to catch the eyes of social media. An interview with Conroy from last week's U20 World Athletics Championship in Lima has been viewed over six million times.
One of the more poetic comments found on Twitter stated that: "The Irish soul given voice through the sonic calligraphy of Spanish is powerful enough to turn the wicked hearted into pillars of salt."
https://twiiter.com/GringoGuerrilla/status/1829986390664266026
The Irish soul given voice through the sonic calligraphy of Spanish is powerful enough to turn the wicked hearted into pillars of salt https://t.co/Tmfv8GcNKV
— IDF Jam Vendetta (@Zanzaibarbitua1) September 4, 2024
Others were a little more up front about their shock of seeing a Peruvian native called Conroy with one user saying: "An Irish Peruvian girl. ( Bianca Conroy) This is the weirdest thing. She looks like she should be behind the bar in the Shanakee, or one of my cousins .. But her body language and voice es Lima."
@fitzr1122
An Irish Peruvian girl. ( Bianca Conroy)
This is the weirdest thing. She looks like she should be behind the bar in the Shanakee, or one of my cousins ..
But her body language and voice es Lima https://t.co/fdOWxaWZwn— Rurri Chicken (@PeruvianMagnum) September 4, 2024
Of course, there has been plenty of Irish emigration to South American over the past few centuries. Alexis Mac Allister's Irish links are well documented and there are plenty of Irish surnames to be found elsewhere in Argentinian football.
Some online are referring to the promising runner as 'The Irish Latina" but regardless of how strong her links to the Emerald Isle actually are, she has clearly done enough to win over the support of the Irish, and hopefully we will be seeing Bianca Conroy competing on bigger stages very soon.
