Tipperary man recovers from serious illness to retain national karate title
Dylan Sullivan has bounced back from heart attack and open heart surgery
A Cahir man who recovered from a heart attack and open heart surgery has won the senior men’s black belt national karate title for the second year in a row.
26-year-old Dylan Sullivan’s success is a story of great personal reward and remarkable resilience, as he follows in the footsteps of his father Kevin, a former national champion whose name was also etched on the trophy 20 years ago.
Dylan has trained with his father Kevin since he was five years of age at the Ballyporeen Tora-Kan karate club. Last year he achieved his Sandan (Third Dan black belt) while Kevin managed to secure his Rokudan (sixth Dan), the pair travelling together to Japan to earn these gradings.
However, Dylan’s success is a far cry from the low point of December 2021, when he collapsed while training with the national team at the Moyle Rovers complex in Monroe. His heart stopped and he had to be given CPR by his cousin Joanne Noonan from Ballydrehid, Cahir to save his life.
He was fortunate that there was a Covid test centre close to where he was training and some EMT nurses came to his assistance.
Later that month, he had open heart surgery to replace the ventricle in his heart, a build-up of calcium having caused a heart attack.
The surgery was a major success, and after a long hard road back, and with the full approval of the medical team, he was back training and fought his way to win the national title last year.
Throughout this year, he has entered nine tournaments and won them all - a winning streak that it’s understood hasn’t previously been achieved - with the exception of just one, when he was feeling under the weather.
Last year he represented Ireland in the World Championships in Hungary and was narrowly beaten in his third round fight which was for a medal, earning him a ranking of fifth in the world.
He has consistently improved since then and hopes to medal in the coming years at either world or European level.
Dylan is to be congratulated on his outstanding achievements in the face of adversity.