Sports Editor Adam Schmitz reminds us of the historic performances of UCD's alumni Olympians at the Paris 2024 games.
A record 26 alumni of University College Dublin competed for Ireland at the Olympics in Paris this summer. They were accompanied by four current students of UCD, three of which are classed as Ad Astra Academy Elites by the university. The UCD students and alum were part of a record breaking performance from Team Ireland who took home an all time high of seven medals, including four gold.
Eve McMahon, a current commerce student in UCD, competed in the Women’s Dinghy sailing event, with her best finish being in sixth place in race number seven of the series. Nicola Tuthill, who studies science, finished in sixteenth place in the women’s hammer throw with a distance of 69.90m. The remaining two current UCD students were Emily Lane, who is undergoing a masters in Project Management, and Claire Boles, who is a PHD student in Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering. Both students competed in rugby sevens, as did seven of the twenty six UCD alumni at the games.
Among the rest of the alumni featured two graduates who, previous to the 2024 games, already had an olympic medal to their name. Eimear Lambe graduated from International Commerce in UCD in 2019, before picking up her bronze medal in rowing as part of Ireland’s women’s coxless four team at the Tokyo games. This year, competing in the same event, Eimear and her team fell short of a medal, having qualified for the final but finishing in seventh position.
Graduating from UCD physiotherapy in 2017, Paul was an Ad Astra Academy Elite, and is now the first Irish athlete to compete at three olympic games.
The other UCD alum, who headed to Paris 2024 looking to add to his already impressive Olympic medal haul, was Paul O’Donovan. Paul picked up his first olympic medal with a silver in lightweight double sculls rowing at Rio 2016, and succeeded in his goal in Paris by winning back-to-back gold medals in the same event. Having competed with his brother Gary in 2016, this is now the second Olympics in which Paul and Fintan McCarthy have picked up the gold medal. Graduating from UCD physiotherapy in 2017, Paul was an Ad Astra Academy Elite, and is now the first Irish athlete to compete at three olympic games.
Speaking before the games kicked off in July, UCD President Orla Feely said “We are very proud of all our UCD students and alumni who are travelling to Paris with Team Ireland to compete in the 2024 Olympics. You are truly wonderful role models for our students and our entire community. Your skill, dedication, practice and focus have brought you to the pinnacle of the sport. UCD students, faculty and staff are behind you and cheering you on every step of the way. Táimid an-bhródúil asaibh”.
Looking broader than UCD, Team Ireland had an incredibly successful time at the games.
The Irish team took home a record breaking seven olympic medals, including four gold. Competing across 15 sports, Ireland had 134 athletes, marking the highest number of Irish athletes at the games in our hundred year olympic history.
Team Ireland smashed their previous record of six medals set in London 2012, while also breaking their previous best of three gold medals in one games which was set in Atlanta in 1996. The team’s medals came across rowing, swimming, boxing and, for the first time ever, Gymnastics.
Daniel Wiffen became the first Irish man to win a medal in swimming at the olympics, claiming gold in the men’s 800m freestyle and bronze in the men’s 1500m freestyle. Following his medal successes, Wiffen finished 18th in the men’s 10k marathon open water swim in the River Seine. After what he says was his first time ever swimming that distance in open water, Wiffen fell ill and was rushed to hospital, losing out on the opportunity to be the country’s flag bearer at the closing ceremony. His hospitalisation brought further scrutiny on the already heavily criticised water conditions of the River Seine.
Mona McSharry brought home Ireland’s third swimming medal of the 2024 games with her third place performance in the women’s 100m breaststroke, hitting a time of 1:05.59.
Kellie Harrington was one of ten Irish boxers to make the trip to Paris, where she successfully defended her Tokyo 2020 gold medal in the women’s lightweight category. Her final bout against China’s Yang Wenlu was watched by 1.4million viewers on RTÉ, marking the broadcasters most viewed event of the games. After taking home the top prize, Harrington announced her retirement from international boxing, having gone undefeated in two successive Olympics, winning two gold medals.
All eyes now turn to the Paralympics, as four UCD alumni will be competing in the 2024 Games in Paris across August and September.
Along with the gold medal successes of Kellie Harrington, Daniel Wiffen, and Paul O’Donovan, Team Ireland’s other first place finish came at the hands of Rhys McClenaghan. Winning the World Championships in both 2022 and 2023, McClenaghan took home gold from Paris in the gymnastics pommel horse event.This marked Ireland’s first ever Olympic medal in gymnastics. The twenty-five year old was named RTÉ’s sportsperson of the year in 2023 and brought eyes to a new sport in Ireland. Ireland’s other medal at this year’s games came in the form of a bronze in the Men’s double sculls, as Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle took third place.
All eyes now turn to the Paralympics, as four UCD alumni will be competing in the 2024 Games in Paris across August and September. Martin Gordon, who completed a Professional Certificate in Compliance in 2019, will compete in two separate para cycling events. Kerrie Leonard will also compete in her second Paralympics in W2 Individual Compound Open which is an archery event. She completed her masters in marketing at UCD in 2019. Katie O’Brien, a UCD veterinary medicine graduate, will compete in PR2 mixed double sculls in para rowing, while para table tennis star and UCD alum Colin Judge will compete and carry the flag for Team Ireland at the opening ceremony.
At time of writing, these events are yet to take place, so keep an eye on the University Observer website for coverage of UCD students at the Paralympic games.