Event: 50k race walk
Who is he? 29-year-old Brendan Boyce is one of three Irish athletes that will compete in the 50k race walk in Rio, along with Alex Wright and Rob Heffernan.
Where’s he from? A native of Milford in County Donegal, Boyce is a member of the Letterkenny Athletic Club, although he has been based in Cork since 2012.
Olympic CV: Boyce finished in a very respectable 29th position in London 2012 with a time of 3:55:01.
At the World Championships the following year, the Donegal man went even better, securing a personal best time of 3:54.24 to finish 25th.
Road to Rio: Boyce became one of the first Irish athletes to qualify for Rio, when he finished fifth in the 50k race walk in Dudince back in March of last year.
He achieved a new personal best in Slovakia, with a time of 3:48:55 in what were perfect conditions.
When does he start? He will have plenty of time to adjust to life in Rio, with his race not taking place until Friday, 19 August, a full two weeks after the opening ceremony.
Where can I follow him? Get him on Twitter here @brendanboyce, on Facebook; or on Instagram.
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What he says: “Athletics in Donegal has turned a bit of a corner. There is more belief there than ever before that athletes can come through and get Irish vests. They know they can compete for their country and be on the world stage.” (Donegal Democrat, 2016)
Medal chances? Breaking the 20-minute mark in the 5k for their first time back in February, with a time of 19:51:76, was an important milestone in Boyce’s career, and it could lead to even greater things in the future.
Although a podium finish is a huge ask, the top 20 would represent significant progress so he scores two out of five on The42‘s scientifically-developed, patented Jerry Kiernan scale…
And here’s something you probably didn’t know… Boyce trains on Leeside as he is coached by fellow Olympian and 50k walker, Rob Heffernan.
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Great to get through but it’s not the one we wanted, Roll on the Huns on Sunday
@Alan Brazil: Jesus Alan. We have something in common. Big game for the hoops
@Alan Brazil: same craic every year , start to improve after getting knocked out of champions league..still though would have got some spanking in the group they would been in , Barca ,Dortmund, inter . Gone are the glory days when they could get a champions league result . .
I don’t know what has gone on with Lennon and Sinclair. Sinclair good for 20 goals a season and he’s been frozen out in favour of Lewis Morgan.. Lennon seems to make stupid decisions, Celtic clearly through with 20 mins to go and he leaves all his star players on with an important game on Sunday. Edwaurd then goes off injured..
@David Garland: Stop your whinging, they won 4-1 what more do you want? Get behind Lennon and the team rather than complain
An away win in Europe is rare. A score line of 4-1 is unheard of. Good to see the holy goalie back in Glasgow.
A nice double on Sunday would be nice. Starting with the Celts and finishing with 5 in a row.
Hail Hail.
Up the Dubs.
It’s not whining wanting to know why one of our better players is not even making the bench. As I said Sinclair contributes around 20 goals a season and by the looks of Rangers this season Celtic could do with his goals, he’s a far better option that Morgan who shouldn’t be near a Celtic jersey..
Very poor performance but still put 4 goals on the board. Great going forward but my good God the backline is woeful. Whoever scouted Boli needs sacking, that lad is a bomb scare. Hopefully Lennon can get it right before the transfer window closes and get in a few decent signings for a change.
Played well, can they meet rangers in group?
@Dougal67: not until the knock out stages, teams from the same country are kept apart