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Louise Shanahan

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Louise Shanahan
2022 European Championships by Sandro Halank
Personal information
NationalityIrish
Born (1997-01-26) 26 January 1997 (age 27)
Cork, Ireland[1]
Sport
SportAthletics
Event800 metres

Louise Shanahan (born 26 January 1997) is an Irish athlete.[2][3] She competed in the women's 800 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[4]

Early life and education

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Shanahan was born in Cork, Ireland, a child of Liz and Ray Shanahan.[5] When she was growing up, Shanahan's father was her coach, until she moved to England.[6] Her father was also an Irish national champion in the 1500 meters,[7] making them the first father and daughter to become national champions in Ireland in that event.[8]

Shanahan obtained a BSc degree in physics from the University College Cork (Cork, Ireland) in 2019.[9] At the moment, she is completing a PhD in physics at Trinity College, Cambridge.[10]

Career

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In 2013, Shanahan became the European Youth Champion in the 800 metres.[11] However, after breaking a bone in her foot in 2015, she struggled to maintain her form.[11] Despite this, she was the Irish 1500m champion in 2021.[6]

From February 2021, she began to improve her performances in an attempt to take part in the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, after the World Student Games were cancelled.[11] She made the qualification for the Ireland Olympic team following results in Europe ahead of the Games.[11] At the beginning of 2021, she had targeted a place at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[12][6]

References

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  1. ^ "Louise Shanahan". Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Louise Shanahan". Olympedia. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Louise Shanahan". RTE. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Athletics - Round 1 - Heat 3 Results". Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. ^ Cork City Sports Athlete of the Month, May - website leevale.org
  6. ^ a b c "Louise Shanahan: Achieving Her Olympic Dream Three Years Ahead Of Schedule". Her Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Tokyo 2020: Team Ireland profiles - Louise Shanahan (Athletics)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Women in Sport: Louise Shanahan running ahead of schedule towards Tokyo". Echo Live. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  9. ^ "The athletes and scientists who participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". Archy Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  10. ^ "UCAPP Athlete, Louise Shanahan, selected for Tokyo Olympics". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d ""I'm in the shape of my life": In Conversation with Olympic Athlete Louise Shanahan". Varsity. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Louise Shanahan takes pride after achieving Games dream for Ireland". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
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