Olympic Federation of Ireland announces the recipients of the team grant and fifteen individual Paris Olympic Scholarship awards
$350,000 to be distributed across thirteen sports
8 June 2022, The Olympic Federation of Ireland today revealed the recipients of the Paris Scholarships, as preparations are already underway for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris 2024. A total pot of $350,000 will be distributed to Olympic hopefuls with the Women’s Hockey team awarded the team grant of $100,000. The fifteen individual grants to a total of $250,000 were awarded to athletes from twelve sports.
The funding for the grants is primarily provided through a combination of International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Solidarity programme funding and OFI funding, split $250,000 from the IOC and the remaining $100,000 from the OFI to allow for a greater number of scholarship awards in Ireland.
The scholarships aim to support the athletes in their preparation for Paris, and to assist on the qualification journey. Athletes were nominated by the national federations and are representative of a mix of Olympians targeting a second Games, and athletes targeting an Olympic debut.
Making the announcement, Team Ireland Chef de Mission for the Paris Olympic Games, Gavin Noble, said,
“Thirty-five individual nominations were received from nineteen member sports for the Paris Scholarship fund, and today we are delighted to formally announce our Paris scholars and of course our support of the women’s hockey team. In the Tokyo cycle, twelve scholarships were awarded, and from those nine athletes qualified for the Games, with two finalists at the Tokyo Olympics. Naturally, we are aiming to build on those results. Through the support of the International Olympic Committee Solidarity Fund, and with the additional backing of Permanent TSB, Allianz and Deloitte, we are able to fund more athletes, to a higher level than ever before, and it is very much part of our performance and commercial strategy that we continue to move in this direction.”
Lara Gillespie (Cycling)
Lara (21) is a particularly versatile cyclist from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. In 2017 she won time trial silver at the Youth Olympics. In 2018 she was a European junior champion (Points) and silver medallist (pursuit). In 2019 she won three track silvers at the European Juniors before becoming Ireland’s first medallist (bronze, individual pursuit) at track’s World Junior Championships. In 2020 she won the Irish senior road title and scratch (track) titles and, in 2021, she won European U23 silver in individual pursuit, her sixth medal at European Championships. Lara studied Health and Performance Science at UCD where she was a recipient of an Ad Astra scholarship (for elite athletes) and, while concentrating on track for Ireland, she competed last year professionally for IBCT, a Belgian UCI Continental road team. She has successfully transitioned from junior to senior, climbing the podium at senior World Cups, with a bronze medal in the Omnium at the World Cup in St. Petersburg, as well as a gold medal in the Team Pursuit.
INDIVIDUAL GRANTS – $15,000 PER PERSON
Rhasidat Adeleke Athletics Dublin
Nhat Nguyen Badminton Dublin
Adam Hession Boxing Galway
Daina Moorhouse Boxing Wicklow
Noel Hendrick Canoeing Kildare
Lara Gillespie Cycling Wicklow
Ciara McGing Diving London/Donegal/Mayo
Olivia Mehaffey Golf Armagh
Sive Brassil Modern Pentathlon Galway
Alison Bergin Rowing Cork
Jake McCarthy Rowing Cork
Aoife Hopkins Sailing Dublin
Eve McMahon Sailing Dublin
Paddy Johnston Swimming Down
Jack Woolley Taekwondo Dublin
TEAM GRANT - $100,000
Women’s Hockey Team
The Women’s Hockey Team were awarded the team grant of $100,000 to assist with their preparations towards Paris 2024. The team consists of both experienced players who competed in the Tokyo Olympics, and emerging talent looking to make their Olympic debut in Paris.