Scott, Wiffen and Keenan – Who are the athletes heading to Paris?

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Scott, Wiffen and Keenan - Who are the athletes heading to Paris?

The 2024 Olympics in Paris are almost here.

A grand number of 139 athletes from Northern Ireland and Ireland are heading to Paris for the Games.

We have taken you through from athletics to canoeing, and then cycling to gymnastics, so now it is time to have a look at the final group of athletes heading to Paris.

There are a few medal hopefuls in part three. BBC Sport NI takes a look at their chances.

Rowing

Rebecca Shorten will be competing in her second Olympics for Great Britain [Getty Images]

Across Great Britain and Ireland, there are a number of medal hopes in Paris.

For Great Britain, Hannah Scott will be looking to replicate her gold medal from the 2023 World Championships in the quadruple sculls.

Rebecca Shorten is in the women’s four alongside double Olympic champion Helen Glover, while Rebecca Edwards will also be aiming for silverware in the women’s pair.

There are a number of medal hopes for Ireland, including Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy who are defending their gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics in the men’s lightweight double sculls.

Philip Doyle will compete in his second Olympics alongside Daire Lynch in the men’s double scull.

Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney will make their Olympic debuts after the Fermanagh crew qualified the men’s pair boat at the World Championships in September, where they also won a bronze medal in Belgrade.

Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey will compete in the women’s lightweight double sculls while Zoe Hyde and Alison Bergin will race in the women’s double sculls and Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh are named for the women’s pair.

Emily Hegarty, Natalie Long, Eimear Lambe, Imogen Magner will race in the women’s four while Holly Davis will travel as a reserve.

Rugby Sevens

The men’s team in particular look like a genuine medal shout in Paris. The the most recent SVNS Series (formerly known as the World Rugby Sevens) they finished second overall.

Six Nations winning full-back Hugo Keenan will return to his Sevens roots to take to the field in Paris, while Jordan Conroy is a try-scoring machine and there’s also Ulster’s Zac Ward.

The women’s team are also capable of a big performance and can beat anyone on their day. While they only finished seven after the seven rounds, they did claim a famous win Perth to stun the big nations.

The Sevens team is littered with regulars from the 15s game, including the exciting Beibhinn Parsons and Ulster’s Ashleigh Orchard has been included.

Ireland’s men’s squad: Niall Comerford, Jordan Conroy, Hugo Keenan, Jack Kelly, Terry Kennedy, Hugo Lennox, Harry McNulty (capt), Gavin Mullin, Chay Mullins, Mark Roche, Andrew Smith, Zac Ward.

Ireland women’s squad: Kathy Baker, Megan Burns, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Alanna Fitzpatrick, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Erin King, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Emily Lane, Ashleigh Orchard, Beibhinn Parsons, Lucy Rock.

Sailing

Sailing is one of the events to take place outside of Paris and will be held just off the coast in Marseille.

Ireland will have four sailors competing, including Rio Olympian Finn Lynch in the men’s dinghy, while Eve McMahon will make her debut in the Games in the women’s dinghy.

Tokyo Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove will compete in the men’s skiff.

Swimming

After a stunning last year where he has gone from outsider to medal contender, there are high hopes for Daniel Wiffen in Paris.

After winning two gold medals at the World Championships in Doha earlier in the year, Wiffen will go in the men’s 800m and 1500m freestyle in Paris as he looks to cap an outstanding year.

In a late twist, the 23-year-old will also head to the River Seine for the opening water 10k marathon. It’s a big ask, but Wiffen feels like he is up to the task.

Larne swimmer Danielle Hill is another heading to the Games in strong form. Hill, 24, became the first Irish swimmer to win a long course gold medal in 27 years when she triumphed in the 50m backstroke at the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade. She then followed that up with a silver in the 100m backstroke.

Mona McSharry will go in the women’s 100m and 200m breaststroke and Ellen Walshe women’s 200m and 400m medley.

Belfast’s Victoria Catterson and 16-year-old Bangor swimmer Grace Davison, who sat her GCSEs in June, will travel as part of the first women’s relay team since 1972.

Conor Ferguson, who narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification as a 16-year-old in Rio, will make his Games debut in the men’s relay.

Tom Fannon will be going in the men’s 50m freestyle.

For Team GB, Jack McMillan will be a medal hopeful when he swims in the 4x200m relay.

Taekwondo

Last, but by no means least, Ireland will have one representative in taekwondo.

Jack Wooley, 25, will be taking part in his second Olympics in the 58kg weight category and will look to go further than his last-16 exit in Tokyo.

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