Aoife Hoey
Aoife Hoey (born September 6, 1983[1]) is an Irish bobsledder who has competed since 2004.[2] She finished 22nd out of 23 in the two-woman event at the 2005 FIBT World Championships in Calgary.[3] At 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), she was the tallest woman at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[4]
Bobsleigh career
In 2000 Aoife was selected as part of the Irish women's bobsleigh Team however due to her young age she had to make do with dry land training with the team. A year later she took to the ice sliding with Lesley Fitzgerald(pilot)competing with older sister Siobhain for the number one Brake athlete position. Lesley and Aoife won medals in the America's Cup event in Calgary Canada.Aoife piloted the Irish team home to two further America's cup races in 2009 at Lake Placid New York. Aoife and her older sister teamed up in the Winter of 2002. Aoife as pilot and Siobhain on brake.They Siobhán, received partial funding from the Olympic Council of Ireland but no commercial sponsorship.[5] Following the worst possible start to the 2005-2006 Winter season (Serious injury)they narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2006 Winter Olympics.[6] In Jan 2006 Siobhain retired. Teaming up with new recruit Jennifer Corcoran.For the 2007-08 bobsleigh season, Hoey qualified to compete in the European Bobsleigh Cup.[7] She competed in the first two events of the season, finishing fifth at Igls on November 22, 2007 [8] and 14th at Königssee on November 29, 2007.[9] Funding did not allow for the athletes to complete the Winter sliding season. In 2008 Aoife and Brake athlete Jennifer stood on the rostrum at the World Junior Bobsleigh Championships in Igls Austria bringing home to Ireland the first major Championship medal in a Winter Sport event.
Following a difficult season 2009-2010 racing in European Cup and World Cup events with brake athlete Claire Bergin, Hoey qualified for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.[10] She was named flagbearer for the Irish team at the opening ceremony of those games.[11] Older sister Siobhain was appointed to the honoured position of Chef de Mission for the Irish team at the games.
The bobsleigh team of Aoife Hoey and Claire Bergin finished in 17th place at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[12] Finishing ahead of team with all the advantages more established Winter sport nations could offer. Aoife's ice coach at the games was Horst Hornlein former Olympic Luge champion.
Athletics career
Athletics career began at the age of seven at the Nation Community games Championships. Aoife medalled in the Long-Jump, Hurdles, Shot-Putt events in every age group at the Laois championships, Leinster Juvenile championships, National championships and Irish schools championships both indoor and outdoor. She was Irish Junior Champion in the Long-Jump, Triple-Jump, Shot-putt, Hurdles and Hepthatlon.She represented Ireland at the FISEC games, Celtic International, schools International and Europa Cup events. In 2005 she was Irish national outdoor champion in the triple jumpList of Irish national outdoor champions., p. 32. - accessed February 9, 2008.</ref> She also works for the Athletics Association of Ireland in the High Performance unit.[13]
References
- ^ "Hoey, Aoife (IRL)". sportresult.com. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ^ "Aoife Hoey". bobsleighsport.com. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ^ "World Championships Women's Bob Calgary". FIBT the international home of Bobsleigh and Skeleton sports. Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ^ "Irish bobsleigh duo will compete". BBC News. 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ^ Success for bobsleigh sisters but sponsors still giving them the slip, Laois Nationalist, 30 July 2003.
- ^ Irish Winter Olympics team to be announced, Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1), 26 January 2006.
- ^ FIBT 2007-08 Women's bobsleigh quotas. - accessed February 9, 2008.
- ^ November 22, 2007 two-woman bobsleigh European Cup results - accessed February 10, 2008.
- ^ November 29, 2007 two-woman bobsleigh European Cup results - accessed February 10, 2008
- ^ Olympic.org 9 December 2009. "Fast track to Vancouver". - accessed 20 December 2009.
- ^ Irish Olympic Committee 9 February 2010 announcement of Aoife Hoey being named flagbearer for the 2010 Winter Olympics. - accessed 11 February 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "Irish bobsleighers finish 17th at Olympics". RTE Sport. 2010-02-25. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Committees and Organisational Structure". www.athleticsireland.ie. Athletics Association of Ireland. Archived from the original on January 2008. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
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