ELLIS O’REILLY made history today by becoming the first Irish woman to qualify for the Olympics in a gymnastics event.
O’Reilly achieved qualification in the early hours of this morning at the Aquece Rio Gymnastics Qualifier, a test event in the host city ahead of the Games later this year.
Needing a score of 49.134 to book her place on the plane alongside Kieran Behan who qualified at the weekend, O’Reilly achieved 50.032 AA.
The 18-year-old received an invite for the test event in Rio thanks to a strong all-around performance at last year’s World Championships and took full advantage of the opportunity.
Gymnastics Ireland CEO Ciaran Gallagher was delighted with the achievement:
“This is a huge step forward for our women’s programme and in becoming the first Irish female gymnast to qualify to an Olympic Games.
“Ellis’ achievement will serve to inspire to all the young up and coming Irish gymnasts who will want to follow in her footsteps.”
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