Ann McQuaid competed in the women’s K-1 500 metres canoe sprint at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games – one of Ireland’s pioneering flat-water canoeists in the country’s first-ever Olympic canoeing programme.

She improved her time by almost eight seconds between her opening heat and the repechage, reflecting the learning curve of a first Olympic appearance in a brand new discipline for Irish sport.

Her participation at Munich helped establish the flat-water canoeing programme that would grow significantly in the following decade, with the Salmon Leap Canoe Club going on to represent Ireland at every Olympic Games since 1972.