Who is she? The 24-year-old is Ireland’s leading swimmer these days with her name next to six national records.
Where’s she from? Doyle hails from Raheen in Limerick, but don’t listen for the accent. She’s been competing from Calgary since moving there to study in 2012.
Olympic CV: This will be Doyle’s first time at the Games. She missed out on qualifying for London 2012 by half a second. Her big breakthrough came a year later when she won silver in the 100m breaststroke at the University Games.
Road to Rio: Doyle was the first Irish athlete to qualify for the Olympics, the Universiade again proving a happy hunting ground as she claimed bronze and qualified for Rio with a time of 1:07.15. The same week, she won silver in the 50 metre breaststroke, which is not among the Olympic disciplines.
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When does she start? Doyle’s event goes to blocks on day two of the Games, the morning session (from 5pm Irish time) on Sunday 7 August.
“I push myself a lot. I’m not okay with just being okay and I want to push myself to do better every time I train, every time I race.”
Medal chances:
Doyle’s national record PB is almost two seconds off Lilly King’s world leading time and her early-season prep was badly hampered by a concussion picked up in a car accident. But after coming home fourth in the European Championships, the Limerick woman will be growing in confidence. And she has shown that handy knack of producing her A game when there’s a sniff of a medal.
Three out of five on The42‘s scientifically-developed, patented Jerry Kiernan scale…
Meet Ireland's Olympic team: Fiona Doyle
Event: 100m breaststroke
Who is she? The 24-year-old is Ireland’s leading swimmer these days with her name next to six national records.
Where’s she from? Doyle hails from Raheen in Limerick, but don’t listen for the accent. She’s been competing from Calgary since moving there to study in 2012.
Olympic CV: This will be Doyle’s first time at the Games. She missed out on qualifying for London 2012 by half a second. Her big breakthrough came a year later when she won silver in the 100m breaststroke at the University Games.
Road to Rio: Doyle was the first Irish athlete to qualify for the Olympics, the Universiade again proving a happy hunting ground as she claimed bronze and qualified for Rio with a time of 1:07.15. The same week, she won silver in the 50 metre breaststroke, which is not among the Olympic disciplines.
When does she start? Doyle’s event goes to blocks on day two of the Games, the morning session (from 5pm Irish time) on Sunday 7 August.
Where can I follow her? You can find Doyle on Facebook here, but she’s most active @FionaMDoyle on Twitter.
What she says:
“I push myself a lot. I’m not okay with just being okay and I want to push myself to do better every time I train, every time I race.”
Medal chances:
Doyle’s national record PB is almost two seconds off Lilly King’s world leading time and her early-season prep was badly hampered by a concussion picked up in a car accident. But after coming home fourth in the European Championships, the Limerick woman will be growing in confidence. And she has shown that handy knack of producing her A game when there’s a sniff of a medal.
Three out of five on The42‘s scientifically-developed, patented Jerry Kiernan scale…
And here’s something you probably didn’t know…
Doyle has a twin sister, Eimear, who she always thinks of when standing on the blocks.
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Meet Ireland’s Olympic team: Scott Evans
A day in the life of swimmer Fiona Doyle as she prepares for the Rio Olympics
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2016 Olympics Fiona Doyle Olympic Games Road to Rio The Jerries