As the 2024 Paris Olympics kick off, Ireland is celebrating its 100th year competing as an independent nation. This year, Ireland sent 134 athletes to the games to compete in 15 different sports including swimming, field hockey, and rugby. Among the 134 athletes, two Trinity College Dublin alumni feature in the competion; Jack Kelly for the Irish Rugby Sevens team and Aifric Keogh for Women’s Rowing Pairs.
Keogh is an Olympic veteran, having previously won bronze in the Women’s Four at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning Ireland its first rowing’ women’s Olympic Medal. Keogh received her MBA from Trinity College in 2022, during which time she rowed for the Dublin University Ladies Boat Club. After her historic win in Tokyo, Keogh won 4th in the 2023 World Rowing Champion for the W2 category. On Sunday the 28th of July, Keogh and her partner Fiona Murtagh placed second in their heat to Romania with a time of 7:28.22, qualifying them for the semi-finals. The semi-finals will take place on Wednesday, July 31st.
Photo credit: Ryan Byrne.
Rugby player Jack Kelly graduated in 2019 with a BA in Law from Trinity, where he was a member of the Dublin University Football Club. He was also a member of the qualifying Irish National Sevens Team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where Ireland finished in 10th place overall. The team won against the United States on July 27th in the 5th place semi-final, however lost to New Zealand the same day. Unfortunately, the Irish Rugby Sevens team are out of medal contention.
Also at the 2024 Olympic Games is Trinity staff member David Fitzgerald. The Trinity Hockey Development Officer is in Paris as part of the Irish Men’s Hockey coaching team as Goalkeeping coach. Fitzgerald was reverse goalkeeper, winning bronze for Ireland, in the 2015 Men’s EuroHockey Nations Championship. Fitzgerald was also part of the team representing Ireland at Rio in 2016.
In addition to Fitzgerald, there are numerous Trinity Olympic Ambassadors including Jim O’Donovan who received a Masters from Trinity in 2013 for Sports and Exercise Medicine. O’Donovan was team doctor in Rio as well as Chief Medical Officer for the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Games. Dr Alison Keogh, who received a MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine from Trinity in 2012, will attend the Paris Olympics as a hockey umpire.
Trinity also has ties to the Paralympics. PhD student Sean Husband is an Irish triathlete as well as a Paralympic guide. He competes with Donnacha McCarthy. They finished 4th in Turkey and 3rd in Uzbekistan for the World Cup, however unfortunately did not qualify for the 2024 Paralympics. Husband’s PhD is focusing on ‘position optimisation in cycling’ according to the Trinity Today Alumni Magazine. Trinity alums have competed in the Paralympics for years, including at Tokyo in 2020 when American rowers and Trinity Master’s students, Charley Nordin and John Tanguay won the Silver medal in the PR3 Coxed Four event.
Director of Sport and Physical Activity at Trinity, Michelle Tanner commented, “The Olympics and Paralympics brings out the best in human endeavour and instills a long-lasting sense of achievement and enjoyment to competitors and spectators alike. The Olympic and Paralympic Games inspires individuals of all backgrounds to pursue excellence and embrace the joy of sport. Trinity Sport would like to wish everyone involved with Team Ireland the best of luck over the next couple of weeks, as they participate in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, especially Trinity alumni Aifric Keogh, Jack Kelly and Trinity Sport staff member David Fitzgerald.”
Trinity celebrated its ties to the Olympics this past April with an exhibition in the Exam Hall, featuring Irish medalists Annalise Murphy (sailing, Rio 2016), Aifric Keogh (rowing, Tokyo 2020) and David Wilkins (sailing, Moscow 1980).
