Team Ireland touch down in Germany for pre-Olympic training camp

The Irish boxing team has landed in Germany to fine tune their preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris.

Ten Irish boxers will compete in Paris – Ireland’s largest team for an Olympics since the 1960 edition in Rome.

For the next two weeks, the Irish hopefuls will be at a training camp in Saarburcken, Germany.

Ireland will train alongside Germany, Cuba, Mongolia, India, Australia and the USA, whose head coach is Billy Walsh, the former Irish boxing coach.

Ireland has won 18 Olympic medals in boxing and the class of 2024 includes the reigning women’s lightweight champion Kellie Harrington.

“I’m heading out for my second Olympic Games, and I can’t wait,” Harrington said.

“It’s a big team, we have ten boxers, which is fantastic. The biggest difference between Tokyo and this Olympics is that there will be people in the crowd, and with that a lot of noise, so it will be all about us controlling our emotions.

“I’m glad to be part of history, as this will be the hundredth year that Team Ireland competed in the Olympic Games – so we are already part of history.”

The team of 10 boxers and four coaches is led by High Performance Director Tricia Heberle

Team
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