The Olympic Council of Ireland yesterday announced a team of 40 athletes across six individual sports to represent Ireland at the 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Gyor, Hungary from July 24th to 30th.
The athletes range in age from 13 to 17 and will be bidding to add to a rich tradition of sporting success at the games.
Originally established in 1991 Ireland have won a total of 57 medals against the best youth athletes in Europe.
The six sports represented by Ireland this year are Athletics with 16 athletes, Swimming with 12, Cycling with six, Gymnastics with three, Tennis with two and Judo with one. Female athletes lead the way with 25 selected to compete for their respective sport.
The team will be aiming to match or beat our most successful games in Tbilisi in 2015 when ireland came home with ten medals.
18 Irish athletes who have competed at this festival in the past have gone onto compete at the Summer Olympic Games.
Katie Taylor competed in the European Youth Olympic Festival in football in Paris in 2003 and then nine years later won the Gold in boxing at the 2012 London Olympics.
“The European Youth Olympic Festival is a key step in the development of Ireland’s aspiring stars,” said Olympic Council of Ireland President Sarah Keane.
“It provides these talented young athletes with their first experience of a multi-sport event allowing them to immerse in different sporting cultures. This will be of great benefit as they move towards realising their own Olympic dreams.”
There is no commercial support in place for the team with Electric Ireland’s support of Team Ireland only applying to the main Olympic Games themselves at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The Olympic Council of Ireland lists the main International Partners of the IOC including Coca Cola, Intel and Toyota all of whom have a strong presence in Ireland but only New Balance, Sport Ireland and Newbridge Silverware from a uniquely Irish perspective.
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