Eight athletes working towards qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics in three years have each been awarded a scholarship fund to help them get to the 2028 Games.
There is one cyclist and one triathlete among the eight recipients. Each of those selected for the scholarship sill receive the funds in instalments over the next three years.
Some of those picked for the fund – of €26,500 each - are combining their sport with college and a number have already been to the Olympics, with others aiming their focus on a debut in Los Angeles.
Aoife O'Brien is the sole Irish cyclist of the eight selected, a huge boost for the Westmeath rider, while Hollie Elliott is the only triathlete on the list.
O'Brien is a dual road and track international who was competing for the national team at the Worlds last week in Chile.
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She is a contender for both the team pursuit line-up and the omnium as the Irish women's track team is aiming for a second appearance at the Olympics - mainly by qualifying through the team pursuit - in Los Angeles after qualifying for the first time in Paris.
O'Brien finished 5th in the road race at the National Road Championships for the past two years and last year won the U23 road race title in the championship race in Athea, Co Limerick, last year.
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Having competed for the DAS-Hutchinson UK Continental team this year, she will ride for that squad again next season. Perhaps her most notable result for the team this year was 9th in the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix. She was also in the breakaway at Tour of Flanders back in April.
However, it is on the track where her Olympic ambitions are set for the next couple of seasons as the team pursuit line-up is now more open that ever after two long-term members of the team - Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe - stepped back from international duties.
O'Brien is in big company on this list of scholarship recipients, announced by the Olympic Federation of Ireland, and her inclusion is a reflection of her emergence as an international rider gathering pace.
Hollie Elliott, who has recently declared for Ireland, is the leading female triathlete in the Irish national team and finished 7th in the Europe Triathlon Cup in Ceuta, Spain, a couple of weeks ago.
As well as O'Brien and Elliott, the other six athletes selected for the funding are:
- Olympian Grace Davison, a European Junior Swimming Championship medallist
- Evan Bailey, one of Ireland's fastest emerging young swimmers who set a national record in the 200m Freestyle at the World Championships this year
- Olympian Kate O’Connor, a European and World Indoor Championships medallist in heptathlon this year
- Rower Ronan Byrne, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian and World Championship silver medallist
- Andrew Coscoran, a 1,500m semi-finalist on the track at the Tokyo Olympics and national record hold across multiple distances
- Ewan McMahon, a former world silver medallist at youth level who broke into the top 20 at senior World Championship level in 2025
Each recipient will receive up to €26,500 over the Olympic four-year cycle, paid in three instalments annually, to help cover costs such as travel, training, accommodation, coaching, and medical insurance.
Team Ireland Chef de Mission for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, Gavin Noble, the scholarships would "make a real difference in the journey" to the Olympic Games for the recipients.
"They provide crucial support to athletes who are balancing full-time training, competition, and financial pressures. It’s great to see such a strong mix of emerging and established athletes, all with genuine potential to perform at the highest level in Los Angeles.”
