West’s best have Paris Olympics in their sights this summer

WITH David Harte and the Irish men’s hockey team booking their place at the Olympic Games, it will boost the West Cork involvement in Paris this summer.

Given how geographically close these Olympics will be, expect an exodus when the biggest sports show in town this summer (July 26th to August 11th) rolls around – and the West Cork athletes in action on the world stage will generate huge excitement locally.

So, who has qualified, and who is in line to qualify?

ALREADY QUALIFIED

PAUL O’DONOVAN & FINTAN McCARTHY: The reigning Olympic champions qualified the Irish men’s lightweight double as they won gold at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, and this Skibbereen-powered boat will be the one to beat in Paris. Paul and Fintan are a formidable pairing, having also won three world gold medals together. With this summer’s Olympics the swansong for lightweight rowing they will want to go out on a high. Paul also has a chance to medal at three Olympics in a row, following silver in Rio (2016) and goal in Tokyo (2021). 

AOIFE CASEY: Keeping the Skibbereen Rowing Club flag flying high, Aughadown woman Aoife, and Margaret Cremen, qualified the Irish women’s lightweight double for the Olympics after they won the B final at the 2023 World Rowing Championships last September. Like with the men’s double, they qualified the boat, and are not guaranteed their selection until closer to the Games. Together this duo won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, while they finished eighth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

DAVID HARTE: The Ballinspittle man is poised to become a two-time Olympian after the Irish men’s hockey team qualified for the Games last weekend. ‘Dreams do come true,’ he tweeted after, as David also captained the team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He will be 36 years old by the time the Games roll around, but has proved his class again and just why he was twice voted FIH World Goalkeeper of the Year. David returned to the Irish set-up last summer after a four-year absence and has shown that class is permanent.

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LOOKING TO QUALIFY

DARRAGH McELHINNEY: High-altitude training in Kenya in January has become the norm for the Glengarriff man who hopes the hard work there will get him in the shape he needs to be in to qualify for Paris. The automatic qualifying standard for the men’s 5000m is 13:05, while Darragh’s PB is 13:17.17 set in May 2022 – a new PB is within his reach, all going well. Otherwise, qualifying via the world rankings is another route to France; he will need three good times between now and when the qualification window closes at the end of July. 

JAKE McCARTHY: The older of the McCarthy twins – by one minute and 20 seconds – Jake has put his back injury behind him and is gunning for one of the seats in the already-qualified Irish men’s lightweight double. He knows the challenge ahead: to dislodge either one of the Tokyo Olympic gold medallists, Paul O’Donovan or his own twin brother Fintan. Main trials in March will tell a lot.

PHIL HEALY: The Ballineen Bullet is determined to become a two-time Olympian following on from her Tokyo adventure in the summer of 2021. There, she raced in three events: individual 200m and 400m, and the mixed 4x400m relay team that qualified for the Olympic final. The relays offer a real chance of Phil spending a few weeks in Paris – she hopes to be part of the Irish women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relay teams that will compete at the World Athletics Relay in the Bahamas in early May. The top 14 teams at the championships in the Bahamas will automatically qualify for places at the Olympics. Also, Phil is keeping the individual route to Paris open, with the 400m her best bet. 

EMILY HEGARTY: After a year to forget, the Skibbereen rower hopes this will be a year to remember. The Aughadown woman made history at the Tokyo Olympics where she was part of the Irish women’s four that won the country’s first-ever women’s Olympic rowing medal, and the target is to be back in a boat for Paris. Emily missed the entire 2023 season with a back injury, but the positive news is she is back training and on the water. The Irish women’s pair and double have both qualified for the Games, while the women’s four will have one last chance at the final Olympic qualification regatta in May.

JOAN HEALY: An outside chance, but still a chance, Joan and the Irish women’s 4x100m relay team would love to qualify for the Games, but not travelling to the World Athletics Relay in the Bahamas in May severely limits their chances. Two places will still be up for grabs afterwards, but time is ticking and working against Joan and Co.