The Paris Olympic Games is just around the corner and will commence on Friday, 26th July 2024. Team Ireland have qualified 103 athletes in 13 different sports so far, and seem to be on course to have it's largest Olympic team ever.
Here's a breakdown of all the female Irish athletes who have qualified so far:
Athletics
Sarah Lavin - 100m hurdles
Rhasidat Adeleke - 200m & 400m
Sharlene Mawdsley - 400m
Ciara Maegeen - 1500m
Sarah Healy - 1500m
Sophie O'Sullivan - 1500m
Fionnuala McCormack - Marathon
Mixed & Women's 4x400m Relay Teams
Boxing
Kellie Harrington - light welterweight division
Aoife O'Rourke - middleweight
Michaela Walsh - featherweight
Cycling
Alice Sharpe, Kelly Murphy, Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Emily Kay & Erin Creighton - Women's Team Pursuit
Omnium (Track cycling)
2-Rider Madison (Track cycling)
Road Cycling
Rugby 7s
The women's team finished 5th in the World Series and with France (as the host nation) finishing ahead of them, that was enough to qualify.
Swimming
Ellen Walshe - 200 metres individual medley
Mona McSharry - 100m breaststroke
X2 Relay squads
Canoeing
Madison Corcoran - K1 Canoe Slalom
Sailing
Eve McMahon - Women's Dinghy (secured a nation place)
Rowing
Aoife Casey & Margaret Cremen - Lightweight Doubles
Zoe Hyde & Alison Bergin - Double Scull
Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh - Women’s Pair
Emily Hegarty, Natalie Long, Eimear Lambe, Imogen Magner, Holly Davis (reserve) - Women's Four
Golf
Leona Maguire & Stephanie Meadow
Equestrian
The Eventing team (Sam Watson, Padraig McCarthy, Susie Berry and Austin O’Connor), secured Olympic qualification for the Irish team at the FEI Eventing World Championships in Pratoni, Italy last year.
A closer look at Team Ireland's road to Paris
Athletics
At the recent World Relays Ireland made their mark amongst the elites and secured bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay and qualified in the women's 4x400m relay whilst also setting a new national record in each. The women's relay allows 5 athletes to be named, but they must include those who have qualified individually. So far, Adeleke is the only one to have qualified, while Sharlene Mawdsley is well on course to qualify through rankings if she doesn't get the tough qualifying time. Louise Shanahan (800m), Roisin Flanagan (5000m) and Kate O’Connor (Heptathlon) are also within the qualification times but their spot to Paris is yet to be determined.
Admin after #WorldRelays 😴 pic.twitter.com/ruA0IaAoLw
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 6, 2024
Boxing
Ireland's Olympic hopefuls kicked off their qualification journey at the European Games last year, where Olympic champion Kellie Harrington and middleweight Aoife O'Rourke secured gold, earning them spots for their second Games. Joining them on the women's team is returning Olympian Michaela Walsh. Despite a close call at the recent world qualifier in Italy, Grainne Walsh remains determined and will have another shot at qualification in late May.
Cycling
Ireland's presence in road racing has never been stronger, with Mia Griffin's stellar performance in the last World Tour race in China securing the team's road racing qualification for Paris. Ireland has only ever had one road racing Olympic athlete (Deirdre Murphy in 2000) so this is a fantastic achievement. Meanwhile, Ireland's women's track pursuit team secured qualification through the 2-year UCI Olympic ranking, and have also made history as this will be the first time ever that Ireland will have a women's team pursuit at the Games.
Swimming
Mona McSharry and Ellen Walshe have secured qualification for Paris, with McSharry consistently reaching finals in global competitions. Ireland has also secured spots for two relay squads, with Mona and Ellen filling spots for the women's squad.
Canoeing
Ireland had much success at the slalom World Championships last year with 3 boats qualifying for Paris. Madison Corcoran's performances in the K1 European Champs was rewarded with the final quota after all nations who finished ahead of her qualified through the World Champs.
Sailing
All eyes will be on Eve McMahon in Paris, after an impressive 20th-place finish in the 2024 World Championships in Argentina.
𝗛𝗲𝘆, 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 👋
“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹” ⏭️
With one race to spare, Eve McMahon has secured a nation place for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games 🇫🇷
Congratulations Eve, and… pic.twitter.com/gDGwoFezgh— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) January 10, 2024
Rowing
The women's boats saw significant changes for the World Championships, with Olympic medalists Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh placing 4th in the pairs event. Alison Bergin and Zoe Hyde also secured 4th place in the double sculls, comfortably qualifying for Paris. However, the women's four, led by Eimear Lambe, finished 9th overall and will aim to qualify through the last chance regatta in May after a 4th place finish at the recent World Cup event, with Emily Hegarty returning to the boat.
Golf
Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow are in the running to represent Ireland in Paris. However, should either of them not be able to compete, Ireland will have no women competing in golf.
Other Sports worth noting
Shooting
Aoife Gormally is ranked 29th in the world and will have a handful of events to qualify ahead of Paris 2024. Qualification for shooting is complicated with overspill between trap and skeet events, qualifying competitions and rankings all in play. With 28 spots available and Aoife included in the mix, her chances to qualify seem promising.
Gymnastics
Halle Hilton has a slight chance of getting a reallocated quota after her performance in the World Championships.
Weightlifting
Thammy Nguyen made history with a bronze medal performance at the European Championships in April last year and won two bronze medals at this year's European Championships in Sofia. However, Olympic qualification for weightlifting is complex. With quotas still uncertain, there remains a possibility for qualification, but the final numbers won't be confirmed until closer to the Games.
