Team Ireland announces formal selections for Rio 2016

The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) today announced jointly with Badminton Ireland, the Irish Athletic Boxing Association, Gymnastics Ireland and Rowing Ireland, the first 14 athletes who have been formally selected to represent Team Ireland at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The Gymnastics Ireland athletes announced were Ellis O'Reilly and Kieran Behan.

OCI President and International Olympic Committee Executive Board Member Pat Hickey said:

“On behalf of all of us at the Olympic Council of Ireland, I am delighted to welcome the first 14 members of Team Ireland for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Supporting Olympians is the most important thing we do and we look forward to completing the full team over the coming weeks. We are confident these athletes are ready to perform in Rio on the world stage. Congratulations to the coaches and performance support staff who are supporting the athletes to achieve their Olympic goals in Rio.

“All the selections have been achieved from qualifying events or world rankings. Each week in the build up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the summer there will be official Team Ireland announcements. Eventually we expect in the region of 13 to 14 sports to feature Team Ireland members, with approximately 85 athletes.”

Kevin Kilty, Team Ireland’s Chef de Mission for Rio 2016, said:

“We are delighted to officially welcome the first group of athletes to Team Ireland for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games this summer. The athletes selected have fantastic potential and have shown that they are capable of performing against the very best in the world. We will provide them with the best possible high performance environment in Rio in order that they can perform at their best.”

The first group of selected athletes is made up of:

Gymnastics Ireland

Kieran Behan - Artistic Gymnastics All Around

Ellis O’Reilly - Artistic Gymnastics All Around

Badminton Ireland

Scott Evans - Men’s Singles

Chloe Magee - Women’s Singles

Irish Athletic Boxing Association

Michael Conlon - Men’s Bantam Weight

Paddy Barnes - Men’s Light Flyweight

Joe Ward - Men’s Light Heavyweight

Stephen Donnelly - Men’s Welter Weight

Brendan Irvine - Men’s Flyweight

David Oliver Joyce - Men’s Lightweight

Rowing Ireland

Sinead Lynch - Lightweight Women’s Double Scull

Claire Lambe - Lightweight Women’s Double Scull

Paul O’Donovan - Lightweight Men’s Double Scull

Gary O’Donovan - Lightweight Men’s Double Scull