Team Ireland has sent a record number of 133 Irish athletes to this year's 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Out of the 133 athletes, the South East is well represented across a number of disciplines, from Track Cycling to Athletics.
South East Olympic 2024 Athletes
Waterford
Name: Thomas Barr
Event: Mixed 4x400m
Hometown: Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
Waterford's Thomas Barr is no stranger to the Olympics. Having competed at both the Rio Games in 2016 and the Tokyo Games in 2021, this is the Dunmore East native's third time representing Ireland on the world's biggest sporting stage.
Thomas is best known for his magnificent performance in the 400m hurdles at the Rio Games in 2016 when he recorded a National Record time of 47.97s to finish fourth, just 0.05s off the bronze medal position.
He was also part of the historic gold medal-winning Mixed 4x400m Irish team that competed at the European Championships in Rome earlier this year.
You can listen to our full interview with Thomas ahead of the games here.
Name: Ben Johnson
Event: Men's Hockey
Hometown: Waterford
Ben Johnson makes his Olympic debut following an incredible qualification campaign with the Men's Hockey Team.
The Waterford native initially didn't make the Ireland squad for their qualifying campaign in Valencia but received a late call-up following an injury to Ben Walker.
From there, Johnson has been pivotal in the Irish side, becoming one of their top scorers. Notably, one of his three goals in the qualifiers was in the thrilling 4-3 win over Korea to clinch qualification for this year's games.
You can listen to our full interview with Ben ahead of the games here.
Tipperary
2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland 3/3/2024
Women’s 4x400m Relay Heats
Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley running her leg of the 4x400m Relay
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Name: Sharlene Mawdsley
Event: 400m, Mixed 4x400m,W4x400m
Hometown: Newport, Co. Tipperary
Sharlene Mawdsley is another Olympic newcomer and another pivotal link from that Mixed 4x400m team that won gold in the European Championships in Rome.
She was also part of the 4x400m relay team that came away with a silver medal at the same competition, setting a National Record of 3:22.71.
In the past two years, the Newport native has shaved nearly a second and a half off her Personal Best. This summer, she recorded a 50:72 Personal Best in the 400m, putting her second on the Irish all-time 400m list.
Name: Daire Lynch
Event: Men's Double Scull (M2x)
Hometown: Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
Clonmel's Daire Lynch is certainly one to watch. The 26-year-old qualified alongside his rowing partner Philip Doyle after securing a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2023.
In June, Lynch and Doyle were the winners of the final World Cup race before the Paris Gmaes, notably beating the French Olympic Champions.
Name: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe
Event: Women's Rugby Sevens
Hometown: Tipperary Town
Being the only South East athlete in the Rugby Sevens, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe sets the bar very high. Leigh is currently Ireland's record try-scorer, securing a massive 985 points (228 tries) in the World Series, with 165 of this coming from this season.
The Tipperary Town native is the World Seven's Series third-highest scorer of all time and was nominated for Sevens Player of the Year in 2022.
She scored two tries in Ireland's victory over Fiji in the May 2023 qualifiers, ensuring Ireland's first Olympic spot.
Name: Harry McNulty
Event: Men's Rugby Sevens
Hometown: Milltown, Co. Dublin/Tipperary
The Bahrain-born rugby player is repping the Tipperary flag on his Olympic uniform at this year's games.
At 14, McNulty attended Rockwell College in Tipperary where he picked up rugby for the first time. Paris will mark the second time McNulty has captained the Ireland Rugby Sevens team to an Olympic Games.
He's played 181 games for Ireland scoring 155 points on the World Series.
Carlow
Name: Finn Lynch
Event: ILCA 7 (Dinghy)
Hometown: Bennekerry, Co. Carlow
Having made his Olympic debut at the Rio games in 2016 and narrowly missing out on qualification for the Tokyo games in 2021 Finn Lynch is back competing on the Olympic stage.
Sailing and Bennekerry, Co. Carlow are perhaps two things you wouldn't expect to hear in the same sentence, but Lynch has been a standout sailor for Ireland since winning a silver medal at the World Youth Championships in 2012. He was later crowned champion at the World U19 Championships in 2014.
More recently Lynch finished ninth at the Worlds in Australia before taking home a bronze medal at the Europeans.
You can listen to our full interview with Finn ahead of the games here.
Kilkenny
Name: Jeremy Duncan
Event: Men's Hockey
Hometown: Kilkenny
Now a veteran of Irish Hockey, Kilkenny's Jeremy Duncan enjoyed a spell at Herakles HC and Royal Oreé before returning to Ireland.
He was part of the 2017 team that beat New Zealand to qualify for the 2018 Hockey World Cup and also played for the Ireland Men's Hockey team that narrowly missed out on qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.
With over 117 caps for Ireland, Duncan is now competing in his first Olympic Games for Ireland after securing qualification against Korea earlier this year in Valencia.
You can listen to our full interview with Jeremy ahead of the games here.
Name: Mia Griffin
Event: Team Pursuit
Hometown: Glenmore, Co. Kilkenny
Mia Griffin seems to be a talented athlete regardless of the sport, as she previously played minor camogie for Kilkenny before making the switch to cycling.
Following the move, Griffin won a bronze medal in Individual Pursuit at the European U23s in 2020. After suffering a bad concussion after the Paris-Roubaix, she came back to record the best-ever result for an Irish female rider at the World Tour race in Guangxi in China.
She's continuing to make history by being part of the first-ever Irish Pursuit Team to qualify for an Olympics following a second-place finish at the Nations Cup in Hong Kong.
You can listen to our full interview with Mia ahead of the games here.
Name: Cliodhna Manning
Event: Mixed 4x400m, W4x400m (Non-Traveling Reserve)
Hometown: Kilkenny City
Cliodhna Manning is part of Team Ireland's Athletics team's Non-Traveling Reserves. She's best known for winning the 400m at the National Championships, at just 22, in 2017.
More recently, she secured podium finishes at the National Championships in 2021 and 2022. She was also part of the women's 4x400m team that finished fifth in the 2023 European Indoors.
Wexford
Name: Sophie Becker
Event: 400m, W4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
Hometown: New Ross, Co. Wexford
Another bright star from the silver medal-winning Women's 4x400m Relay team from Rome, Sophie Becker, is competing in her second Olympics, having made her debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
The New Ross native is well used to the pressure that comes with representing Ireland on the big stage, as she was part of the Mixed 4x400m team that made history by making it to the Tokyo Olympic final.
She's also the reigning Irish 400m champion, having set a new Personal Record of 51.13s in Belfast in May.
You can listen to our full interview with Sophie ahead of the games here.
Where to Watch Olympics 2024
Coverage of the Olympic Opening Ceremony will be broadcast live on RTÉ 2 from 6:30 pm on Friday, July 26, 2024.
The South East is represented at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and many medal contenders are among the ranks, so be sure to keep up to date with all the latest sports news on our website, beat102103.com.
