Team Ireland announces athletes for second European Games

The Olympic Federation of Ireland today named a squad of 65 athletes from nine sports to compete in the second edition of the European Games in Minsk, Belarus next month. Competition runs from June 21 - 30 and will feature 15 sports, eight of which are part of the Road to Tokyo 2020 qualification process. Team Ireland will field teams in Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Judo and Shooting.

The European Games in Minsk will see over 4000 athletes from 50 countries compete across 200 events. Irish athletes will be competing in five of the eight sports that are part of the Tokyo 2020 Qualification process; archery, athletics, badminton, cycling road, judo and shooting.

Announcing the team, Olympic Federation of Ireland Chef de Mission, Tricia Heberle said,

“Minsk will provide an exciting opportunity for Team Ireland to come together in a multi-sport environment to compete against some of the best talent in Europe, providing a measure to gauge where they stand. As an athlete you don’t get many chances to compete for your country in multi-sport events so it will be a good learning experience for many of the team as we prepare for Tokyo 2020.”

The first of the Team Ireland athletes will travel to Minsk on June 19. The Opening Ceremony takes place on June 21. At the team preparation day on June 7 official Olympic Federation of Ireland sponsor FBD will announce the flagbearer.

Peter Sherrard, Olympic Federation of Ireland CEO added,

“With just over three weeks to go, anticipation among the team and support staff is building after months of preparation, investment and planning. I would like to thank all of the OFI staff, led by our Chef de Mission, Tricia Heberle, who have worked so hard in partnership with the Team Managers and Performance Directors from our National Governing Bodies to prepare. The partnership approach has been enhanced thanks to the performance support agreement for the Games with Sport Ireland Institute, which will help us to deliver for the athletes and their performances.”

TEAM IRELAND

Athletics (15)

Men (7)

Nelvin Appiah-Konadu (High Jump),

Brandon Arrey (4 x 400m),

Stephen Gaffney (100m),

Conall Kirk (Pursuit),

Andrew Mellon (4 x 400m),

Gerard O’Donnell (110m H),

Paul White (Pursuit).

Women (8)

Grace Casey (Javelin),

Ciara Deely (4 x 400m),

Sinead Denny (4 x 400m),

Victoria Harris (Pursuit Race),

Sarah Lavin (100m Hurdles),

Sophie Meredith (Long Jump),

Amy O’Donoghue (Pursuit Race),

Niamh Whelan (100m),

*Reserves (6): Paul Byrne, Luke Lennon-Ford, Kelly McGrory, Catherine McManus, Lily-Ann O’Hora, Moromoluwa Olusa