Irish & International Sports News, Fixtures & Results

Liam O Brien (IRL) races at ISU Short Track World Tour 1 on October 25, 2024, at Maurice-Richard Arena in Montreal, QC

Two into one won't go but O'Brien eyeing Olympics spot

Sydney-born short track speed skater Liam O'Brien has his sights set on representing Ireland at the 2026 Winter Olympics having very narrowly missed out on Beijing 2022.

other sport • 22 Jun

Team Ireland winter athletes gather for a team camp at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin ahead of the final qualification phase for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games next February. In attendance is Alpine Skier, Cormac Comerford.

Comerford channels Shackleton spirit towards 2026 Games

While the distance from his training base to the site of next year's Winter Olympics may not be the farthest to traverse, the road towards Milano-Cortina 2026 has been a long one for Cormac Comerford.

other sport • 08 Jun

Elsa Desmond of Ireland after competing in the Women's Luge event on day four of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Sliding Park in Yanqing, China.

Desmond willing to sacrifice car to fuel Olympic dream

In a world that can sometimes allow one to muddle along in a haze of ifs, buts and maybes, luger and Winter Olympian Elsa Desmond seems to pierce through that cloud in a refreshingly direct manner when it comes to why she is where she is and where she wants to get to ahead of the 2026 Games.

Elsa Desmond • 31 May

Kamila Valieva was just 15 when she failed a dope test shortly before the Games in Beijing

Updated USA awarded 2022 figure-skating gold after Valieva ban

The United States will finally be awarded the team figure-skating Olympic gold for 2022 after the disqualification of Russian athlete Kamila Valieva for a doping offence.

Olympics • 30 Jan 24

The 2026 Winter Olympics are being held in northern Italy

IOC pick bids for 2030 and 2034 Winter Games talks

France's 2030 winter Olympic bid and Salt Lake City's 2034 bid will enter into a targetted dialogue with the International Olympic Committee, the IOC said, as it looks for a double allocation of Olympic Games.

Olympics • 29 Nov 23

Eileen Gu competed on the US team until 2019

Beijing 2022: Gu grabs another gold

China's 'Snow Princess' Eileen Gu sealed her second gold medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics in the women's freestyle halfpipe in Zhangjiakou.

Olympics • 18 Feb 22

Kamila Valiyeva is consoled by her coaches Eteri Tutberidze and Daniil Gleikhengauz

Beijing 2022: Bach blasts Valieva's coaching team

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has launched a scathing attack on the team behind Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old figure skater at the centre of a drugs probe who wilted under the global glare of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Thursday night.

Olympics • 18 Feb 22

Disappointment is etched on the face of Mikaela Shiffrin

Beijing 2022: More DNF disappointment for Shiffrin

Mikaela Shiffrin admitted she felt like a "joke" after failing to finish her third event at the Winter Olympics on Thursday when she skied out during the slalom portion of the women's combined event.

Olympics • 17 Feb 22

Bubba Newby in action at Genting Snow Park

Beijing 2022: Newby 20th in halfpipe qualifying

Ireland's Brendan 'Bubba' Newby finished 20th of 23 competitors in qualifying for the men's freestyle skiing halfpipe in snowy conditions at at the Winter Olympics.

Olympics • 17 Feb 22

Clement Noel won France's first Alpine skiing gold in Beijing

Beijing 2022: Noel secures slalom success

Clement Noel scorched the 'Ice River' course in a stunning second run to win the men's slalom event at the Winter Olympics.

Olympics • 16 Feb 22

CAS has cleared Kamila Valieva to continue, citing "exceptional circumstances" and the fear a ruling to the contrary could cause the athlete "irreparable harm"

Beijing 2022: Valieva cleared despite positive test

Kamila Valieva has been cleared to continue to compete at the Winter Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) determined that no provisional suspension should be imposed.

Olympics • 14 Feb 22

Beijing 2022: Jack Gower finishes 25th in giant slalom

Jack Gower finished 25th in the men's giant slalom in his final race at the Winter Games.

Olympics • 13 Feb 22

Beijing 2022: Valieva to discover Games fate on Monday

Fifteen-year-old Kamila Valieva will find out her Olympic fate on Monday, one day before the scheduled women's figure skating competition in Beijing, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has announced.

Olympics • 12 Feb 22

Beijing 2022: Russian skater, 15, could be disqualified

Fifteen-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva faces being thrown out of the Winter Olympics after the International Testing Agency confirmed she tested positive for a banned heart medication in December.

Olympics • 11 Feb 22

Jack Gower in action during the men's alpine combined slalom

Beijing 2022: Gower 12th in men's downhill combined

Ireland's Jack Gower put in a superb display on the slopes to finish 12th overall in the men's alpine combined at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games on Thursday.

Olympics • 10 Feb 22

Seamus O'Connor after the men's snowboard halfpipe qualification event

Beijing 2022: O'Connor misses out on halfpipe final

Snowboarder Seamus O'Connor has missed out on qualification for the final in the men's halfpipe at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Olympics • 09 Feb 22

Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu still has a chance to medal at this year's Games

Beijing 2022: 'Ice Prince' perplexed by rare lapse

Yuzuru Hanyu, widely regarded as one of the best male figure skaters of all time, found himself wondering if he had fallen out of favour with the ice after a rare mistake.

Olympics • 08 Feb 22

Elsa Desmond is Ireland's first ever Olympian in the luge

Beijing 2022: Desmond 'ecstatic' after Olympic debut

Ireland's Elsa Desmond said she "couldn't be happier" after her maiden Winter Olympics came to an end today in Beijing.

Olympics • 08 Feb 22

Supporters watch the women's freestyle event at Big Air Shougang in Beijing.

Beijing 2022: Games to open doors to more spectators

China will invite more spectators to attend the Winter Olympics as the Covid-19 situation is under control within the "closed-loop" bubble, which separates all event personnel from the public, an official from the Beijing organisers said on Tuesday.

Olympics • 08 Feb 22

Jack Gower competing in today's men's downhill skiing event

Beijing 2022: Gower 31st in downhill, Arbez suffers DNF

Ireland's Jack Gower climbed six places to finish 31st overall in the men's downhill, Tess Arbez crashed out in the women's giant slalom, while Elsa Desmond is 34th after two runs in the women's luge.

Olympics • 07 Feb 22

Therese Johaug of Norway won the women's 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon race

Skiier who served doping ban wins first gold in Beijing

Therese Johaug, the Norwegian cross-country skier who served an 18-month doping ban, has won the first gold medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Olympics • 05 Feb 22

From left, Seamus O'Connor, coach Ian Burson and Brendan 'Bubba' Newby

Team Ireland ready to make their mark in Beijing

The 2022 Winter Olympics officially gets underway today and for Team Ireland's athletes, it's the culmination of years of hard work.

Beijing 2022 • 04 Feb 22

Flag bearers Elsa Desmond and Brendan Newby of Team Ireland at the opening ceremony

After fraught build-up, Xi Jinping opens Winter Games

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the opening of the Beijing Winter Games, triggering a burst of fireworks that marked the start of an Olympics whose preparations were beset by the Covid-19 pandemic and criticism over human rights in China.

Olympics • 04 Feb 22

Brendan Newby will be one of Ireland's two flag bearers, along with Elsa Desmond

Irish Olympic flag bearers speak of pride

Irish athletes Brendan Newby and Elsa Desmond have spoken of their pride at being selected as the country's flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Olympics • 31 Jan 22

Workers clean the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing

Covid cases mount among Olympic athletes and personnel

During the past four days China has detected some 119 cases of Covid-19 among athletes and personnel linked to the Beijing Winter Olympics, with authorities imposing a "closed loop" bubble to keep participants, staff and media separated from the public.

Olympics • 31 Jan 22