Lara Gillespie wins Irish Times-Sport Ireland award after stellar season

Lara Gillespie, centre, has had the biggest year of her career by far, including a first medal at an elite Worlds and making her Olympic debut (Photo: Elias Rom)

Lara Gillespie has won a prestigious sports award, from The Irish Times, following on from a stellar 2024 season that included winning her first medal at an elite UCI World Championships and making her Olympic debut.

Gillespie, now a World Tour rider with UAE Team ADQ, really moved up several notches on the international track and road scenes, taking four wins on the road.

They included a brilliant victory in the very demanding one-day Antwerp Port Epic in April as well as two stages and the overall at Giro Mediterraneo Rosa (2.2) in Italy in May.

The 23-year-old has just been named as the winner of the Irish Times-Sport Ireland Sportswoman Award for October, mainly for her bronze medal in the points race at the UCI World Track Championships in Denmark last month.

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It was the 23-year-old’s first medal at an elite Worlds after taking European titles at junior and U23 level and also winning a medal at the junior Worlds. At the elite Worlds she finished behind gold medal winner, Julie Leth of Denmark, and world road race champion Lotte Kopecky of Belgium 

“I’m ecstatic, I’m just so happy I could do it for Ireland, we’ve been working so hard for this,” she said at the time. “We’re a small team but, really, I’ve had the best support all year so I’m just so happy to come out with something this week.”

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