Meet Ireland's Olympic Team - 60 Athletes, 60 Quick Facts

Athletics

Jessie Barr – Women’s 4 × 400 Metres Relay
Waterford athlete who is one of the most promising 400m runners in the country.

Claire Bergin – Women’s 4 × 400 metres Relay
Claire is the first Irish female to compete at both the summer and winter Olympic Games.

Brendan Boyce – Men’s 50K Walk
First Donegal athlete to qualify for Olympics in 36 years

Fionnuala Britton – Women’s 10,000 Metres
Cross country specialist who won gold at 2011 European.

Linda Byrne – Women’s Marathon
Recent winner of Dublin Mini marathon with great prospects for the future.

Michelle Carey – Women’s 4 × 400 Metres Relay
Hurdler at Beijing 2008 who is taking part in her second Olympic campaign.

Alistair Cragg – Men’s 5,000 Metres
Current Irish 5k and national 10k record holder who has won gold at European championships.

Catriona Cuddihy – Women’s 4 × 400 Metres Relay
Kilkenny native who recently competed in European championships.

Joanne Cuddihy – Women’s 400 metres
First Irish female to run 400 metres in under 51 seconds.

Colin Griffin – Men’s 50K Walk
Taking part in second Olympics after a season of highs and lows.

Marian Heffernan – Women’s 4 × 400 metres Relay
Fifth fastest women in all time Irish record books over 400 meters

Rob Heffernan – Men’s 20K & 50K Race Walks
Taking part in his fourth Olympic campaign, current 20 and 50k record holder.

Paul Hession – Men’s 200 Metres
Fastest man in Irish sprint history and the first Irishman to make a 200m European sprint final.

Ava Hutchinson – Women’s Marathon
Current Irish half-marathon and cross country title holder

Catriona Jennings – Women’s Marathon
Relatively new to marathon running and sister of champion rower Sinead Jennings.

Mark Kenneally – Men’s Marathon
Reigning national senior 10,000m champion

Olive Loughnane – Women’s 20K Walk
Making her fourth Olympic appearance and has won the silver medal at the 2009 World Championships.

Ciaran O’ Lionaird – Men’s 1,500 Metres
Ranked fourth in the all-time Irish 1,500m list who finished 10th at last year’s World Championships

Derval O’Rourke – Women’s 100 Metres Hurdles
Competing in her third Olympics and has won silver at the European Championships in 2006.

Tori Pena – Women’s Pole Vault
Tori has twice achieved the Olympic ‘A’ standard at big athletics meetings in the US.

Stephanie Reilly – Women’s 3,000 Metre Steeplechase
A triple Irish national champion, who has achieved the Olympic ‘A’ standard at the World Championships in Korea last year.

Laura Reynolds – Women’s 20K Walk
Made the Olympic qualification mark by beating her personal best by two minutes in her final attempt.

Deirdre Ryan – Women’s High Jump
Ireland’s first ever female Olympic high jumper

Badminton

Chloe Magee -Badminton – Women’s Singles
Ireland’s top female badminton player.

Scott Evans Badminton – Men’s Singles
First Irishman to qualify in badminton for the Olympics (Beijing 2008)

Boxing

Paddy Barnes – Men’s 49Kg
Bronze medal winner from the Beijing Olympics 2008.

Michael Conlan – Men’s 52Kg
Current Irish champion

John Joe Nevin – Men’s 56Kg
Heading to his second Olympic games. One to watch.

Adam Nolan – Men’s 69Kg
Member of Bray Boxing Club where he trains alongside Katie Taylor.

Darren O Neill – Men’s 75Kg
Irish boxing team captain and three time’s national champion

Katie Taylor – Women’s 60Kg
Premier women’s boxer in the world who has won four world championships and five European championships.

Canoeing

Eoin Rheinisch – Men’s Kayak K1 Slalom
Finished fourth in Beijing and is a World Cup gold medalist and a 6-times World Cup finalist.

Hannah Craig – Women’s Kayak K1 Slalom
Narrowly missed out on qualification for Beijing.

Andrzej Jezierski – Sprint C1 200 Metres
Originally from Poznan, Andrzej has also won five medals at the Canoe World Sprint Championships including two gold medals.

Cycling

David McCann – Men’s Road Race
Irish national road race champion three times and national time trial champion six times.

Daniel Martin – Men’s Road Race
Irish national road race champion, who has won several stages on the Grand Tour.

Nicolas Roche – Men’s Road Race
Going into his second Olympics.

Show Jumping

Denis Lynch – Show Jumping
Making his second Olympic appearance, Denis is a regular in the top ten of the sport worldwide.

Billy Twomey – Show Jumping
Highest ranked Irish show jumper who is making his Olympic debut.

Eventing
Aoife Clarke – Equestrian – Three day Eventing
Has had numerous top ten finishes in major UK eventing competitions.

Performed well at all the major European championships and represented Ireland at the Athens Olympic Games.

Joseph Murphy – Equestrian – Three Day Eventing
Making his Olympic debut after recent top performances at major competitions.

Michael Ryan – Equestrian – Three Day Eventing
Has competed at the World Championships in Kentucky and is a Tattersalls leading rider award winner.

Camilla Spiers – Equestrian – Three day Eventing
One of the bright stars on the Irish equestrian scene who has twice won the Irish Field award.

Sam Watson – Equestrian – Three day Eventing (2nd Reserve)
Has performed well internationally, being a regular top 20 finisher.

Dressage

Anna Merveldt – Equestrian – Mixed Dressage-Individual
One of the leading dressage riders on the international circuit and a regular Rider of the Year award winner.

Gymnastics

Kieran Behan – Men’s Artistic – Floor
Second ever Irish gymnast to achieve Olympic qualification.

Judo

Lisa Kearney– Women’s 48Kg
First female to represent Ireland in judo at the Olympics.

Modern Pentathlon

First Irish competitor to qualify in Modern Pentathlon since the Moscow Games of 1980.

Rowing

Sanita Puspure – Women’s Single Sculls
Ireland’s sole competitor in rowing.

Sailing

Competing at his fourth Olympics having represented Ireland at the Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Games.

Ireland’s number one laser sailor.

Matthew Mc Govern – Men’s 49er
Regarded as one of the best 49er sailors in the world.

Annalise Murphy – Women’s Laser Radial
First Irish sailor to qualify for London 2012 and is an excellent medal prospect.

Peter O leary – Sailing – Men’s Star
Made his Olympic debut in China in 2008 and recently won gold with his team mate David Burrows at the Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth.

Ger Owens – Sailing – Men’s 470
Making third consecutive Olympic appearance.

Scott Flanagan Sailing – Men’s 470
One of the most promising young sailors in Ireland and will be one of the youngest competitors at the 2012 Olympic Games sailing event.

Ryan Seaton–Sailing – Men’s 49er
Making his Olympic debut, he is a renowned laser sailor.

Shooting

Derek Burnett – Shooting – Men’s Trap
Finished in seventh place at the Athens Games after his Olympic debut in Sydney.

Swimming

Barry Murphy – Swimming – 100 Metres Breaststroke
Achieved the Olympic ‘A’ standard last year and is a consistent record breaker.

Grainne Murphy – Swimming – Women’s 800 Metres Freestyle
One of the elite athletes on the world swimming stage. London is her Olympic début.

Sycerika McMahon – Swimming – Women’s 100 Metres Breaststroke
Medal winner at the European Junior and European Youth Olympics.Making her Olympic début in London.

Melanie Nocher– Swimming – Women’s 200 Metres Backstroke
Swimming in her second Olympic Games , she has competed in two Commonwealth Games and several world and European Championships.

Triathlon

Aileen Morrison – Triathlon – Women
Ireland’s best triathlete and a medal prospect for London 2012.

Ireland’s number one male triathlete for the past decade and has represented Ireland at all levels internationally and twice competed in the Commonwealth Games.