Team Ireland Boxing Team have departed today, bound for the City of Lights and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
This is an historic team: Ireland’s largest in 64 years; the third largest at the Games, and among only three teams to have qualified women in all available weights. The team includes 4 boxers who will become double Olympians as soon as they set foot on the field of play at the North Paris Arena: defending lightweight champion, Kellie Harrington, Tokyo bronze medalist, Aidan Walsh, and Tokyo Olympians Michaela Walsh and Aoife O’Rourke.
High Performance Director, and Paris Team Leader, Tricia Heberle says “We set off this morning on a journey very few athletes win the privilege of taking. Just 114 other Irish Boxers over the last 100 years have boxed Olympic bouts. This is a special team, in an extraordinary sport, undertaking an immense challenge. Its right to recognize the importance of this moment, not just to the athletes and staff, but to the Irish Boxing Family, and as Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport, the Olympic Federation of Ireland and the broader Irish High Performance system. We have prepared well and are ready for Paris and the quest to do our best.”
Head Coach, Zauri Antia, says “They are well prepared, they are focused on their key performance goals and they are ready to contest at the highest possible level. Once again, I would like to congratulate the clubs, club coaches and families of all Paris 2024 boxers. Once an Olympian, always an Olympian – and achieving that title takes thousands of hours of work by the boxer, but also the endless support of their clubs and families. They should be very proud”
The Road to Paris
Team Ireland boxers’ preparations for Paris, have included the European Games (QE), the 1st and 2nd Olympic Qualifiers, Usti nad Labem Grand Prix the 2024 European Championships and the 74th & 75th Strandja Memorial Tournaments. The team has attended 3 multi-nations sparring camps in Assisi and a camp in Hua Hin, Thailand, a multi-nations camp at the Germany Olympic Training Centre, Kienbaum, as well as the HPU created Heat Acclimatisation camp in Tenerife in December 2024.
High Performance, in order to ensure the best possible training environment for Team Ireland boxers has, since September, hosted a Super Camp with Ukraine, a Women’s Camp with Spain, France and Turkey, a Men’s Camp with Spain and Ulster, and a dual-nations camp and international with Ukraine.
These key preparation events are underpinned by excellence in technical boxing learning in the Daily Training Environment in the Sport Ireland Institute, driven by Head Coach, Zauri Antia, and Coaches Damian Kennedy, James Doyle, Lynne McEnery and Eoin Pluck. Overseen by High Performance Director, Tricia Heberle, boxers also have access to world class Sport Ireland and Sport NI Sport Science Practitioners in the fields of Strength and Conditioning, Nutrition, Performance Analysis, Physiology, Physiotherapy and Sport Psychology.
Schedule
The draw for the Games takes place on the afternoon of Thursday, July 25th. It will not be broadcast, but drawsheets will be available here on that evening.
The Olympics opening ceremony takes place on July 26th, and boxing begins at 2.30pm, Irish time, on July 27th. The schedule of boxing, including which weights will box on which day, is available here. Dependent upon the draw, Team Ireland’s 54kg Jennifer Lehane, 60kg Kellie Harrington and 63.5kg Dean Clancy may box in the opening two sessions.
The complete entry list for the Paris 2024 Games is:
Watch
Discovery+ is the official streaming partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and all bouts will be streamed here – anyone wishing the watch any streamed sport at the Games will need to create a free account to do so.
Team Ireland Boxing
Athletes:
Kellie Harrington (Dublin) Women’s 60kg
Aidan Walsh (Belfast) Men’s 71kg
Aoife O’Rourke (Castlerea) Women’s -75kg
Daina Moorehouse (Bray) Women’s -50kg
Dean Clancy (Sligo) Men’s 63.5kg
Grainne Walsh (Tullamore) Women’s -66kg
Jude Gallagher (Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone) Men’s -57kg
Jennifer Lehane (Ashbourne, Co. Meath) Women’s -54kg
Jack Marley (Sallynoggin, Dublin) Men’s -92kg
Michaela Walsh (Belfast) Women’s -57kg
Staff:
Tricia Heberle – Performance Director & Team Leader
Zauri Antia – Head Coach
Damian Kennedy – Coach
Lynne McEnery – Coach
James Doyle – Coach
Jim Clover – Doctor
Lorcan McGee – Physio
Paula Fitzpatrick – Physiologist