Aisling Bowman (neé Byrne) competed in the women’s 470 class sailing at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games alongside Cathy MacAleavey – making history as the first two Irish women ever to compete in Olympic sailing. Sailing had been an open event in previous Games but Seoul was the first edition to include a women’s only sailing event.

The 470 regatta at Seoul was a tough struggle throughout in some of the most difficult conditions in the history of Olympic sailing, with a north-easterly wind that never dropped below 12 knots and on occasions exceeded 30 knots, with unpredictable currents. In race five, while challenging the East German boat for the lead, MacAleavey and Byrne capsized in the strong winds. Byrne was swept away from the boat and was eventually rescued by a jury boat. They also capsized in the final race, finishing 18th overall.

Their selection had been contested by the OCI’s standards committee, but was supported by the chief officers on the grounds that the pair had participated in 24 international regattas in the 18 months before Seoul and had engaged in a higher intensity of competition than their male counterparts.

Byrne went on to compete in the Europe one-person dinghy at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics under her married name of Bowman where she finished in 10th position.

More recently, as a breast cancer survivor, Bowman has been involved in fitness challenges such as Everest in the Lakes and Everest in the Alps.