Siobhán Hoey
Siobhán Hoey (born 17 July 1970) is an Irish bobsleigh competitor from Portarlington, County Laois.
Hoey first competed in athletics, becoming national champion in the triple jump between (1993–2000).[1] She was also national indoor champion (1993, 1996–1999). And she won the long jump in 1989.[2] It should be noted that her personal best of 12 metres 38 cm compares unfavourably to national champions in other countries during her career who would have jumped between 1.5-2 metres more than her. In 1999, Siobhán and her sister, Aoife Hoey, were selected for Ireland's first women's bobsleigh team, although Aoife was unable to compete as she was younger than required by international rules. Siobhán competed in a two-woman team with Lesley Fitzgerald in the first Irish team to contest the 2001 Womens’ World Championships in Calgary, Canada.[3]. The team failed to qualify for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.Siobhán took a year off from her career as a school teacher in Rathmines, Dublin and Aoife took a break from studies. Receiving partial funding from the Olympic Council of Ireland, the team were unable to secure a commercial sponsor, needed due to the expensive nature of bob sleigh n[4] In 2006, the Hoey's attempted to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.[5] At the end of the series of qualifiers, they ranked 16th, with only 15 places available on the team, and missed out.
References
- ^ Irish Republic Championships, Athletics Weekly.
- ^ Irish Republic Indoor Championships, Athletics Weekly.
- ^ Sisters taking sport to the extreme, Carlow Nationalist, 15 May 2003.
- ^ 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.
External links
- Profile: Siobhain Hoey (CBS Sportsline)