IRISH flyweight Carly McNaul had told the Irish News she was ready to quit after her defeat to Charley Sian-Davison at the European qualifiers for Tokyo in London last March.

But over six months later and the east Belfast woman is determined to rekindle her Tokyo dream.

The 31-year-old was drafted into the 13-strong Irish team at the last minute as they finished up preparations for London, replacing Ceire Smith after the Cavan flyweight sustained a thumb injury during a training camp in Italy.

McNaul was the first Irish female boxer between the ropes at the London qualifiers but was beaten by England’s Sian-Davison.

Two days later the entire tournament was shelved because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When I got back, Covid happened and that was me, I was going into retirement,” said McNaul told the Irish News.

“I came back after getting beat and I was for packing it in. Everything was up in the air and then lockdown happened. Everyone else was doing 5k runs but I didn’t do any of that. After a while I ended up going back to training and it was such a relief to be able to get doing something.”

With Tokyo 2020 now Tokyo 2021 after being postponed for a year, McNaul has been afforded an opportunity to rebuild and come back stronger.

The one that really matters, though, is the World Olympic qualifier next May, and getting there for a shot at redemption remains Carly McNaul’s main goal.

“I’ve come this far, I might as well keep trying. Who knows what might happen?

“In a lot of ways Covid has been a Godsend because it has given me time to focus on me and what I need to do to become a better boxer – my style, my shape, just a whole lot of different things.

“The other qualifier is the big one. At the minute though I’m just happy to go with the flow, and what will be will be.”

Click here for London qualifiers results and where the Irish team stands in relation to the tournament.

Brendan Irvine qualified in the English capital but nine other Irish boxers are still in play at the European event.

(The European and World qualifiers for Tokyo are scheduled for next February/March and May/June at host cities to be confirmed).

Working Together to Promote Mental Wellbeing is a regional social media campaign to promote positive mental and emotional and wellbeing of people across Northern Ireland.

The campaign will run for a five week period (commencing 7 September 2020) and will focus on looking after the mental and emotional wellbeing of self and others by promoting the Take 5 Steps to wellbeing and the range of resources and support available.

www.mindingyourhead.info

For Republic of Ireland resources: https://www.mentalhealthireland.ie/

Ireland and the USA went head-to-head in Portland and St Louis almost a quarter of the century ago.

Wayne McCullough, who would reach the Barcelona 1992 Olympic bantam final a year later, recorded two wins in America.

Pat O’Halloran, Eamonn Magee and Gordon Joyce also did the double against the Americans.

Ireland chalked up 12 wins on the trip to win the series.

Dual Match USA

Portland, USA

March 12, 1991

51kg Marcel Brown USA Thomas Waite IRL 3:0
51kg Pat O’Halloran IRL Ronald Dunlop USA 2:1
54kg Wayne McCullough IRL Guillermo Jorrin USA 3:0
60kg Larry Nicholson USA Seamus McCann IRL RSC3
63,5kg Damion Jasmer USA Anthony Hennessy IRL 3:0
67kg Mark Lewis USA Billy Boyd IRL 2:1
67kg Eamonn Magee IRL Pat Briceno USA 3:0
71kg Gordon Joyce IRL Jerry Heller USA 3:0
71kg James Webb IRL Dan Connolly USA 2:1
81kg Richard Bonds USA Dan Curran IRL DQ3

Dual Match USA

Clarion Hotel, St.Louis, USA

March 14, 1991

51kg Thomas Waite IRL DeAndre Knox USA 2:1
51kg Pat O’Halloran IRL Travis Gregory USA 2:1
54kg Mike Vaile USA Paul Buttimer IRL 2:1
54kg Wayne McCullough IRL Clarence Temple USA AB1
57kg Roy Nash IRL Danny Bostic USA 2:1
60kg Patrice Brooks USA Seamus McCann IRL 2:1
63,5kg Terron Millett USA Anthony Hennessy IRL 3:0
67kg T.J.Davis USA Billy Boyd IRL 3:0
67kg Eamonn Magee IRL Daniel Boyce USA 3:0
71kg Gordon Joyce IRL Odell McKinnis USA 3:0
71kg Eric Benford USA James Webb IRL AB1
81kg Mark Delaney IRL Jim Compton USA RSC3

MEDICAL OFFICERS NAMED IN SUPPORT TEAM FOR TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES

Experienced Professionals to Support Team Ireland Following Robust Selection Process

10 September, 2020

Following a robust selection process, the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OfI) today named the team of Medical Officers (MO) who will support Team Ireland athletes at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. Dr Alan Rankin was appointed as Deputy Chief Medical Officer and MO for the pre-games training camp in Fukoroi. Dr Suzi Clarke and Dr George Fuller will be based in Tokyo and Dr Frank O’Leary will lead the medical support in Sapporo. All four will work directly with Team Ireland Chief Medical Officer Dr Jim O’Donovan in the build up to, and throughout the Games period.

Dr Alan Rankin will be based in the Pre-Games Training Camp in Fukuroi.  He is a Consultant in Sports Medicine based in Belfast where provides medical support athletes at the Sport Northern Ireland Sports Institute.  Dr Rankin has more than 20 years of experience working in high performance and Olympic sports, including three years as Medical Lead at the Sport Ireland Institute, London and Rio Olympic Games and has previously served as Medical Officer for Athletics Ireland.
Dr Suzi Clarke will be based in the headquarters in Tokyo where she will support the hockey team and other sports. She is a Consultant in Sports Medicine based in Dublin and has professional and Olympic sport experience working at the London Games and previously with the Irish Women’s and Men’s Hockey teams, FAI, Athletics Ireland and Swim Ireland.
Dr George Fuller will be based in the headquarters in Tokyo where he will support the rowing team and other sports. He has been a GP in practice for 14 years based in Cork where he has supported the Rowing Ireland High Performance Programme for 11 years. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Sport & Exercise Medicine and was Medical Officer to Team Ireland for the European Youth Olympic Festival in Georgia in 2015, World Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires 2018, and one of the medical officers for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Dr Frank O’Leary will be based in Sapporo where he will lead medical support for the marathon and walks team. He was Medical Officer for Team Ireland at the Baku European Youth Olympic Festival 2019, has previously supported Irish international rugby as team doctor and has worked with the Sport Ireland Institute as MO since 2017.

A key objective in the recruitment process was to ensure a seamless transition for athletes from their normal training and competition environment to the Olympic Games and Chief Medical Officer Dr Jim O’Donovan is satisfied with these appointments, acknowledging the continuity of care for athletes who will work with professionals with whom they are familiar.

O’Donovan said, “A rigorous selection process has provided our medical team and athletes with the opportunity to work alongside some excellent, experienced and trusted colleagues from across Ireland.

“Tokyo will provide a number of medical challenges and I am confident our doctors will fit in to our multi-disciplinary team seamlessly with a number of them working alongside our athletes and staff already. I am confident the knowledge, experience and expertise we now have within our medical team will ensure Team Ireland athletes are fully prepared and will help them achieve their goals.”

Head of Performance Support Phil Moore added, “The Medical team will be well-known to the Olympic athletes in Tokyo. One of our key criteria in the robust selection process was to ensure that there was a continuity of care for athletes going to the Games and this is a particularly strong feature of this team. There is a real depth of expertise in this medical team and strong working relationships with the athletes and coaches of Team Ireland.”

In July the physiotherapy support team was announced for the Tokyo Olympic Games which will now take place from the 23 July to the 8 August 2021. Irish athletes are currently in the qualification stages across their sports, and at this stage there are 52 athlete spots confirmed already for Team Ireland.

Please note the COVID-19 Club Resilience Funding application deadline has been extended to Wednesday 9th September at 5pm.

The COVID-19 Club Resilience Funding is part of a programme from the Government of Ireland, implemented through Sport Ireland and National Governing Bodies to support the sports sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. This scheme is designed to support Sports Clubs who find themselves in need of assistance to avoid closing. Applications must be completed and submitted prior to the 7th September 2020. Submission of applications is done via survey link below, ensure you have clicked submit at the end of the application. Funding applications are submitted to Sport Ireland by September 14^th and funding is expected to be distributed by October 2020.

This grant would cover costs associated with reopening of clubs.  The club grant scheme is designed and intended to support return to sporting activities only. These funds are not aimed to replace lost income from ancillary activities such as hospitality, sub-letting facilities or other non-sporting commercial activity.

This scheme does not apply to clubs in NI however, other schemes are available in NI for our clubs and if you are unsure you can contact the IABA office in House of Sport 0044 28 9038 1222

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Club Resilience Fund Application: https://kwiksurveys.com/s/JuHt5WIC