IRELAND WILL HAVE a diver at the Olympic Games for the first time in 68 years this summer after Oliver Dingley secured qualification for Rio.
The 23-year-old finished 11th in the 3m event preliminaries at the Diving World Cup to secure one of the qualification berths for Rio.
He will become the first Irish diver to compete at the Games since 1948.
The English-born diver lives and trains in Dublin after declaring for Ireland through his grandmother, who hails from Cork.
He won a bronze medal for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games but switched allegiances later that year.
On a personal level, it’s the realisation of a dream for Dingley after he experienced heartache four years ago.
He finished second in the Team GB trials but they instead opted to select the the third-placed diver.
88 Olympics spots have been up for grabs at the World Cup this weekend with the top 18 finishers in each event progressing to the semi-finals and also securing a place in Rio.
The semi-final of the 3m springboard takes place tomorrow while Ireland’s Natasha McManus will hope to follow suit when she competes on Monday.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Sunday Sport, Dingley couldn’t contain his delight.
“It was a very stressful day for all the athletes and luckily for me I kept my head and it all came good in the end.
“There’s no reason why I can’t progress further, I’m aiming for a final at the Olympic Games and we’ll see where we go from there.”
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
