OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION STATUS OF IRISH ATHLETES AND WEEKLY SPORT UPDATES

Hello,

In light of the rescheduling of most competitions, I wanted to make sure that as a member of the media, you have the most up to date and comprehensive access to Irish Olympic athletes and their progress towards Tokyo 2020(+1). I have put together a detailed document that I am keeping updated, and I plan to provide you with regular weekly updates, along with details of where you can follow these sports. I hope that this will assist you in covering the sports, and I really would appreciate any extra coverage that you can give our Olympic hopefuls on their journey.

The Olympic qualification status of the athletes can be found AT THIS LINK which will be regularly updated. I understand that consistency is important – so I will be emailing updates on a weekly basis, whenever Irish Olympic hopefuls are in action.

If you have any feedback, requests or suggestions as to how you would like to receive this information, or what kind of updates you would like, please feel free to contact me also.

Irish athletes across most sports are still on the qualification journey for the Tokyo Olympic Games which now take place next year from 23 July to 8 August 2021. To date there are 52 confirmed athlete spots for Tokyo, with many more athletes and teams sitting inside qualification status. Eleven sports to date will enjoy Irish representation in Tokyo, and the current tracking of the team could see Team Ireland travelling next summer to Tokyo with the largest Olympic team to date.

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.

Badminton

Badminton Ireland will have athletes competing at the Portuguese International this week. The athletes matches can be followed on this link HERE. In Badminton the key athletes tracking for Tokyo qualification are Nhat Nguyen in the Men’s Singles, and Chloe and Sam Magee in the Mixed Doubles. Following a recent block of intense competition these athletes will not be competing at this event.

Portugal will see a seven person team in action, with Jonathan Dolan, Mark Brady and Adam McAllister competing in the men’s events, and Rachael Darragh, Sara Boyle, Moya Ryan and Kate Frost competing in the women’s event. Last weekend Darragh, Frost, Ryan and Dolan all reached the last 16 of the Saarlorlux BWF Tour Super 100 event, and are aiming to build on this momentum going into Portugal this week

Canoeing

This weekend will see Canoe Slalom athletes compete behind closed doors at a World Cup race in Pau, France, where London 2012 Olympian Hannah Craig, and Tokyo 2021 confirmed Olympian Liam Jegou will both be racing for Ireland.

Swimming

International Swimming League

Shane Ryan has been in record breaking form at the International Swimming League in Budapest, Hungary. The league is being delivered over 10 weeks with two Irish competitors in Shane Ryan (Toronto Titans) and Darragh Greene (London Roar). Shane has already broken three Irish Records (50m & 100m Butterfly and 100m Backstroke) and claimed three wins in the 50m Backstroke Final (twice) and 100m Backstroke.

Both Ryan and Greene’s teams are back in action on November 5th and 6th. Shane’s Toronto Titans will face Energy Standard, Team Iron and DC Trident. Darragh’s London Roar face Tokyo Frog Kings, Cali Condors & New York Breakers.

About the International Swimming League (ISL)

Now in its second year, the ISL brings 315 swimmers from 48 countries to Budapest, Hungary for eight weeks in October/November.

Athletes are split across ten teams; Cali Condors (California), Team Iron (Budapest), Tokyo Frog Kings, London Roar, DC Trident (Washington DC), New York Breakers, Toronto Titans, LA Current, Aqua Centurions (Italy) and Energy Standard (Ukraine).

The teams will face off against each other in a series of ten matches from October 16th to November 14th. Semi-Finals will take place for the top eight teams from 19th – 22nd November, while the Final, made up of four teams, will be November 21st and 22nd.

Ireland have two swimmers competing, Darragh Greene for London Roar and Shane Ryan for Toronto Titans.

ENDS

For Further Information:

Heather Boyle, OFI Public Relations Manager

+353 87 337 1954, heather@olympicsport.ie

Download the most recent qualification status for Team Ireland HERE

Contact information for the Press Officers from each sport:

SPORT

NAME

EMAIL ADDRESS

Athletics

(AI will be in Tokyo)

Daragh Browne

DaraghBrowne@athleticsireland.ie

Badminton

Dan Magee

dmagee@badmintonireland.com

Boxing

Peter Browne

peter@iaba.ie

Canoeing

Sam Curtis

press@canoe.ie

Cycling

(will be in Tokyo)

Scott Graham

scott.graham@cyclingireland.ie

Equestrian

(HSI Press Officer)

Brian Hennessy

pr@horsesportireland.ie

Equestrian

(will be in Tokyo)

Sophie Dalton

sdalton@horsesportireland.ie

Golf

Alan Kelly

alan@gui.ie

Golf

Carla Reynolds

carla@ilgu.ie

Gymnastics

Caroline Ledwith

caroline@gymnasticsireland.com

Gymnastics

Jess Mondragon

jess@gymnasticsireland.com

Hockey

(will be in Tokyo)

Emma Porter

emma.porter@hockey.ie

Judo

Ciaran Ward

wardjudo@hotmail.com

Karate

Masa Maye

masamaye@gmail.com

Modern Pentathlon

Paddy Boyd

ceo@pentathlon.ie

Rowing

Stephen King

stephen.king@rowingireland.ie

Rugby 7s

Ryan Bailey

ryan.bailey@irfu.ie

Sailing

Treasa Cox

treasa@sailing.ie

Swimming & Diving (will be in Tokyo)

Trish Mayon

trishmayon@swimireland.ie

Taekwondo

Robert Taaffe

robert@sd-tkd.com

Triathlon

Joanne Doran

digital@triathlonireland.com

Triathlon

Kevin Keane

kevin@triathlonireland.com

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