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Who’ll fly the flag in London? 8 of Ireland’s Olympic hopefuls

With 12 months to go until the London Games, we look at some of the Irish athletes who could challenge for podium honours.

29/07/11 405 Views 1 Comment

THE COUNTDOWN TO the London Olympic Games reached a milestone on Wednesday, with less than a year now remaining until the opening ceremony on 27 July 2012.

For Ireland’s medal hopefuls, the next twelve months will be all about fine-tuning their preparations and — in most cases — securing qualification and a place in the national Olympic squad.

We take a look at eight of the athletes, some better known than others, who have every chance of claiming podium honours in London next summer.

Who’ll fly the flag in London? 8 of Ireland’s Olympic hopefuls
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  • Annalise Murphy (Sailing)

    Ask anyone in Irish sailing circles who their tip for Olympic gold is and they will almost certainly point to the 21-year-old Dubliner. From a strong sailing family, Murphy has been racing since the age of nine and has excelled recently in the Laser Radial class. At the moment, she is ranked 12th in the world and, with further improvement sure to come over the next year, who would rule her out of a medal challenge?

  • Katie Taylor (Boxing)

    If you had to back just one Irish athlete to bring home gold from London, it would be Taylor. She has been practically untouchable in the 60kg division for the past six years, winning six successive European crowns and three World titles. But, as anyone who can remember the 2010 World Championships in Barbados will tell you, there are a lot of tough contenders in the lightweight field. Expect Katie to be ready for the test and, hopefully, to capture the gold she so richly deserves.

  • Joe Ward (Boxing)

    Since bursting onto the scene with a win over Kenny Egan in the national championships this year, Joe Ward has become a fearsome contender in the light-heavyweight division. At the recent European Championships in Turkey, he proved that he has the measure of the cream of the continent's contenders. A convincing performance at the World Championships in Baku in September and Ward could very quickly become one of our main medal hopes.

  • Paddy Barnes (Boxing)

    One of Ireland's medal heroes in Beijing, Barnes will be hoping to go one better next summer and claim gold in the light-flyweight section. Since his success in China, the 24-year-old has gone on to win a European amateur title and Commonwealth gold. If he can steer clear of the injuries which have disrupted this season, he'll be hard to beat.

  • Derval O'Rourke (Athletics)

    Ireland's best medal hope from the track events, O'Rourke has already proven that she has the class to compete internationally with a fourth-place finish in the 100m hurdles at the 2009 World Championship. That performance, coupled with a silver from the European Championships in Barcelona last summer, has reminded everyone that she is better than her disappointing performance in Beijing. There is a growing sense, however, that could be now or never for O'Rourke's Olympic dreams.

  • Nicolas Roche (Cycling)

    Roche was disappointed by his performance in Irish colours in 2008 in Beijing, where he finished 63rd, over ten minutes behind gold medal winner Sammy Sanchez of Spain. Still, despite his relatively poor record in road races, he remains one of the world's elite cyclists. An injury-free twelve months would be a major boost ahead of next summer's event.

  • Rob Heffernan (Athletics)

    Disqualified for a "lifting" offence in the 20km event at the Athens games, Heffernan finished a creditable eighth place in Beijing, less than a minute outside the medal positions. Since then, the Corkman has continued to make his presence felt on the European scene, picking up a pair of fourth place finishes in the 20km and 50km walks at last year's European Championships.

  • Gráinne Murphy (Swimming)

    A silver medallist in the 1500m freestyle at the 2010 European Championships, Murphy has every chance of challenging for podium honours in the pool. The Wexford teen was unlucky not to progress past the heats in that same event at this year's World Championships, but with slight improvement, can expect to qualify for at least one of the swimming finals in London.
  • Ask anyone in Irish sailing circles who their tip for Olympic gold is and they will almost certainly point to the 21-year-old Dubliner. From a strong sailing family, Murphy has been racing since the age of nine and has excelled recently in the Laser Radial class. At the moment, she is ranked 12th in the world and, with further improvement sure to come over the next year, who would rule her out of a medal challenge?
  • If you had to back just one Irish athlete to bring home gold from London, it would be Taylor. She has been practically untouchable in the 60kg division for the past six years, winning six successive European crowns and three World titles. But, as anyone who can remember the 2010 World Championships in Barbados will tell you, there are a lot of tough contenders in the lightweight field. Expect Katie to be ready for the test and, hopefully, to capture the gold she so richly deserves.
  • Since bursting onto the scene with a win over Kenny Egan in the national championships this year, Joe Ward has become a fearsome contender in the light-heavyweight division. At the recent European Championships in Turkey, he proved that he has the measure of the cream of the continent's contenders. A convincing performance at the World Championships in Baku in September and Ward could very quickly become one of our main medal hopes.
  • One of Ireland's medal heroes in Beijing, Barnes will be hoping to go one better next summer and claim gold in the light-flyweight section. Since his success in China, the 24-year-old has gone on to win a European amateur title and Commonwealth gold. If he can steer clear of the injuries which have disrupted this season, he'll be hard to beat.
  • Ireland's best medal hope from the track events, O'Rourke has already proven that she has the class to compete internationally with a fourth-place finish in the 100m hurdles at the 2009 World Championship. That performance, coupled with a silver from the European Championships in Barcelona last summer, has reminded everyone that she is better than her disappointing performance in Beijing. There is a growing sense, however, that could be now or never for O'Rourke's Olympic dreams.
  • Roche was disappointed by his performance in Irish colours in 2008 in Beijing, where he finished 63rd, over ten minutes behind gold medal winner Sammy Sanchez of Spain. Still, despite his relatively poor record in road races, he remains one of the world's elite cyclists. An injury-free twelve months would be a major boost ahead of next summer's event.
  • Disqualified for a
  • A silver medallist in the 1500m freestyle at the 2010 European Championships, Murphy has every chance of challenging for podium honours in the pool. The Wexford teen was unlucky not to progress past the heats in that same event at this year's World Championships, but with slight improvement, can expect to qualify for at least one of the swimming finals in London.

READ - The 2012 London Olympics will have the biggest gold medals ever >

READ - Who would you cast in RTE Sport: The Movie? >

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Niall Kelly
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  • Edward Bowe 30/07/11 #

    can’t really agree with you on any of your picks except for boxing.looks like we will be relying on action in the ring for medals again next summer.prob one of the weakest track and field teams we will have traveling to the Olympics for some time

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