Team Ireland on Copacabana beach in Rio
Ireland’s male Olympians move into the Olympic village just after noon local time today after finishing up their final training camp with Brazil and the USA yesterday with the countdown to the opening bell for boxing at the Games just over a week away.
The team have been training and sparring with the Brazilians and the Americans at a naval base in the host city for the 31st Olympiad.
Male boxing begins on August 6 at the 9,000 capacity Pavilion 6 venue.The draw for the tournament will be made Thursday, August 4 at 11am (local time) at the Village Mall in Barra, Rio.
Two hundred and eighty six boxers – 250 males and 36 females – go into the hat.
Katie Taylor joins the team on August 2. Female boxing begins on August 12.
The light-flyweights, lightweights, light-heavyweights and heavyweights are the first in action on August 6, although whether Paddy Barnes, David Oliver Joyce and Joe Ward, Ireland’s representatives in the first three aforementioned weights,are out on Day 1 is contingent on seeding.
Click here for boxing schedule.
Barnes has one official duty to perform before he begins trading leather with the world’s top light-flyweights at his third successive Olympics.
The Belfast dynamo leads out Team Ireland at the opening ceremony for the Games on August 5.
Barnes is the 7th Irish boxer to be chosen as Irish flag bearer at an Olympic opening ceremony after Matt Flanagan at Amsterdam 1928.
Over 100 boxers have represented Ireland at the Olympicr Games since Paris 1924.
Irish Squad Rio Olympics
Women
60kg (Lightweight) – Katie Taylor (Bray)
Men
49kg (Light-flyweight) – Paddy Barnes (Holy Family)
52kg (Flyweight) – Brendan Irvine (St Paul’s)
56kg (Bantamweight) – Michael Conlan (Clonard)
60kg (Lightweight) – David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s Athy & AIBA Pro Boxing)
69kg (Welterweight) – Steven Donnelly (All Saints)
75kg (Middleweight) – Michael O’Reilly (Portlaoise)
81kg (Light-heavyweight) – Joe Ward (Moate & AIBA Pro Boxing)
Team Manager: Joe Hennigan
Coaches: Zaur Antia, Eddie Bolger, John Conlan
Physio: Julianne Ryan