Byrne achieves Olympic fencing goal
Saturday, 26 April 2008 19:48Ireland's leading fencer Siobhan Byrne has qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics by winning the silver medal at the European qualifying tournament in Istanbul.
Byrne becomes the first Irish fencer to reach an Olympic Games since Michael O'Brien in 1992 in Barcelona.
Only the two finalists at this tournament would qualify for Beijing and Byrne booked her place by beating the tournament's number one seed Andreea Pelei of Romania 15-14 in a thrilling semi-final.
An hour later she faced Spaniard Araceli Navarro in the final of the tournament, but missed out on gold by a mere one hit in a 14-15 defeat.
After the final a delighted Byrne said: 'I am so so thrilled to qualify for the Olympics; I just can't believe it. I felt good coming into this tournament; I knew what I had to do to realise my goal and I stayed focused and positive throughout.
'I felt like it was my time, and it is; this is my turn. I am so grateful to my coach, and manager, Ohio State; my college and the Sports Council for backing me for years, and I'm just so pleased for my family.'
