“Many people who are not involved in professional sports do not realize the sacrifices that are involved.”
During his career, Charlie Eastwood stood on the podium dozens of times.
However, this one seemed different.
Just two days earlier, the 29-year-old lost his father, John, after a brave fight against the disease.
During a “tumultuous week”, Eastwood was working on a simulator in Italy before the call came to say that John was to return home from hospital to spend his final days with his family.
He rushed to pick up his wife Cat and children from their home in Portugal to join the rest of the family in Northern Ireland.
“It was a difficult time, but it was as nice as it could be,” Eastwood said.
“The whole family was at his bedside, at home, as he wished.”
