In our final update for 2020 we have a few competition updates for you from our Olympic family. The focus of our interview of the week today is three time Olympian Chloe Magee in Badminton. Chloe competes with her brother Sam Magee in the Mixed Doubles and is currently just outside Olympic qualification. Competing is a crucial element of this sport, and with the qualification ranking unpausing again in March, she spoke with us about the challenges and decisions that she has to make over the coming months. Transcript available on request.
The Olympic qualification status of the athletes can be found AT THIS LINK which will be regularly updated. While many athletes are currently training from home, with little competition, see below a summary of sports which will see Irish Olympic hopefuls in action this coming weekend. This weekly update is provided in collaboration with the various National Governing Bodies, and the press officer contact details for each sport is provided below.
Olympic Federation of Ireland Updates
Earlier this week we launched the Make A Difference fund with Team Ireland sponsors for Tokyo, FBD Insurance. A grant of €50,000 is being provided to assist Olympic hopefuls in their preparation for the Olympic Games. MORE ABOUT THE FUND HERE.
TG4 Olympic Feature – Laochra Thar Lear
Every four years the Olympic Games showcase the best athletes in the world. They represent hope, endurance, strength, and pride, and allow small nations to compete side by side with the world’s most powerful. Next Wednesday 23 December at 21:30 TG4 will showcase some of Ireland’s most provocative Olympic stories and athletes in a feature documentary called Laochra Thar Lear. MORE DETAILS HERE.
Badminton
This week’s feature interview is with Chloe Magee who is competing for Olympic qualification with her brother Sam Magee in the Mixed Doubles. Currently Chloe and Sam are ranked 28th in this event, with 16 to qualify for Tokyo. Qualification is achievable, but strong showings at the remainder of the Olympic qualifying tournaments is essential.
Olympic hopefuls Chloe and Sam Magee, as well as Nhat Nguyen had their first competition post-lockdown at the Danish Open last October and will be targeting more international competitions in Asia over the coming months. Good results in these competitions will be key to gaining optimal ranking as they embark on the crucial Olympic qualification journey in March, when the ranking unpauses and the Olympic qualifying events resume.
Nhat Nguyen is currently sitting within Olympic qualification in the Men’s Singles, ranked 25th out of 38.
Golf
It’s the Tour Championship and final event of 2020 for Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire this week, with an opportunity for them to make some significant headway in terms of Olympic rankings and money with a purse of $3m. Information HERE. Follow their progress on the ILGU twitter feed.
Hockey
Team Ireland Hockey Coach Sean Dancer has announced his reduced panel of 23 athletes for 2021. The team has been training both regionally and nationally throughout the past number of months, playing a series of inter-squad matches in order to remain in top shape despite restrictions preventing them taking on other international squads. FULL DETAILS HERE.
Swimming
This week a small and select group of Ireland’s elite athletes including Darragh Greene, Shane Ryan and Danielle Hill will have their first races in a 50m pool since March, with the competition taking a unique format of short course (25m pool) heats and long course (50m pool) finals. Full outline and programme of events can be found HERE. Follow all updates and results from the action on the Swim Ireland social media channels.
Taekwondo
Taekwondo ace Jack Woolley has won a bronze medal at the Taekwondo European Championships – Senior Olympic Weight Category in Bosnia & Herzegovina in the -58kg. His event was on the 10 December 2020. MORE HERE.
This was the Tallaght athlete’s first competition back since the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in a podium finishing position. Earlier this month we chatted to him about his journey to Olympic qualification and how he has been getting on during lockdown.
