Gymnastics has been at the centre of Ellis O’Reilly’s world since she was six. But if you’d told the Londoner back then that 12 years later she’d become the first woman to represent Ireland in the sport at the Olympic Games, she’d most likely have thrown you a quizzical look.
It has, then, been a dizzying journey for the 18-year-old whose Armagh-born grandfather qualified her for Ireland. Her mother Jackie introduced her to gymnastics when she was six, and she’s been devoted to it ever since.
It was a very different sporting route to the one chosen by her two younger brothers, Frank and Reggie, and her older sister Jenna, all of whom are boxers. As a four-time British champion, Jenna was given the honour of leading Katie Taylor in to the ring for her gold medal bout at the London Olympics.
Local gym
So, while her siblings were sparring in the local gym, O’Reilly was making her way to the Europa Gymnastics Centre in Crayford, half an hour away, where she has been coached by Samantha James for almost a decade.
As soon as she finishes her days at Chislehurst School for Girls in south London she trains for four hours, between 4.0 and 8.0, and again on Saturdays, a total of around 26 hours a week. All this while studying for her A-levels, her goal to earn a place at university later this year to study Physical Education.
And all this while O’Reilly was attempting to qualify for Rio. The dream began to seem achievable when she finished in the top half of the field at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, earning her a place at April’s Olympic Test Event in Rio, the final qualifying competition for the 2016 Games.
She needed 49.134 to qualify and when her scores from the bars, beam, floor routine and vault were totted up she had 50.032. Still, though, she had to wait an hour to get confirmation that she had qualified, the official list bringing the good news.
O’Reilly, then, became the first Irish female gymnast to qualify for the Olympic Games and will join 2012 Olympian Kieran Behan in Rio. Before then, there are those A-levels to sort out. She won’t forget 2016 in a hurry.
Other previous winners:
Awards run from Dec 2015 to Nov 2016 inclusive.
DECEMBER: Fionnuala McCormack (Athletics) – McCormack just missed out on an individual medal at the European Cross Country Championships in France, finishing fourth, but led the Irish team, completed by Lizzie Lee, Caroline Crowley and Ciara Durkan, to bronze.
JANUARY: Aine McKenna (Basketball) – The Kerry woman won the Most Valuable Player award for her performance in the National Cup final when she captained Glanmire club Team Montenotte in their outstanding 96-64 victory over Killester.
FEBRUARY: Ciara Mageean (Athletics) – On the comeback trail from a serious ankle problem, the runner from Portaferry, Co Down has had a hugely encouraging few months, securing Olympic qualification and then, in February, breaking two Irish indoor records, the 1,500m and the mile.
MARCH: Nina Carberry (Horse Racing) – For the second year running Carberry won the Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham on the Enda Bolger-trained On The Fringe, making it three victories in the race in all, and six career victories at The Festival.
