Name: Rachael Darragh
Event: Badminton - Women's singles
Age: 26
Darragh is the second member of her family to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games and is following in aunt Chloe Magee's footsteps. It is very much a family affair with uncle Daniel Magee the performance and training director for Badminton Ireland.
The Rapoe native had an anxious wait to see if her ranking was enough, closing the qualification window outside qualification. Thanks to a reallocated spot from host country France, the 26-year-old was within the top 32 that would receive an invite to the Olympic Games.
Darragh is eligible to represent Northern Ireland and has competed at two Commonwealth Games, finishing joint fifth in the 2022 edition.
In 2023 she moved up a level from the international challenge series to compete at World Tour Super 100/300 level. She made the last 32 of the 2023 World Championships and her career highlight so far was making the quarter-finals of the Abu Dhabi Masters last October which helped her clinch the 38th Olympic spot.
