Jack Woolley: Team Ireland's trailblazing taekwondo star aiming high ahead of Olympic debut
- Published
Woolley will become Ireland's first taekwondo Olympian when he competes at this summer's Tokyo Games
Jack Woolley knew he was in for a rough night.
The Irish taekwondo star had done all he could in pursuit of securing his Olympic dream, but even after all the sweat he'd poured into his quest, the worst was yet to come: he had to play the waiting game.
Woolley's road to Tokyo was shaped by a series of impressive finishes in 2019, winning silver medals at the US Open and European Championships to add to the golds he captured at the Australian Open and Turkish Open.
But even with that, the Dubliner still wasn't assured of his ticket to Tokyo.
With Woolley on the precipice of realising a dream 15 years in the making, his fate would be decided at the World Taekwondo Grand Slam in Wuxi, China, where Chinese athlete Yushuai Liang would take the Irishman's spot if he reached the final.
Considering the time difference, Woolley wouldn't discover the outcome until the small hours.
"I had to knock my phone off, I couldn't deal with it," Woolley told Sportsound Extra Time.
"My coach was like 'put your phone on airplane mode, I'll knock on your door in the morning and I will tell you whether we've qualified or we haven't.
"It's either a yes or no, at that stage it was out of my hands. As you can imagine, I didn't really sleep well that night.
"It was a bit mad, but I got that knock on the door and he just gave me a hug and said 'look, we're after making it, we've qualified the place for Ireland'."
Woolley's achievement was unprecedented: by securing qualification, he became Ireland's first taekwondo Olympian.
That he was, by his own admission, "devastated" to narrowly miss out on qualifying for the Rio Games in 2016 made it all the more satisfying.
And confirmation last week that the 22-year-old, who competes in the men's -58kg category, was officially selected by the Olympic Federation of Ireland was the culmination of a journey that had a curious beginning.
"I was a bit of a mad child, don't get me wrong, I was very energetic and a bit crazy," recalled Woolley.
"My brother was bullied in primary school, he's five years older than me. He took up the sport to learn self-defence and take care of himself.
"I used to go down and watch him. I was very flexible as a kid - I was always doing the splits and kicking things, so when I went down and saw all these people training and kicking their legs around, I really wanted to join in.
"But you weren't allowed until you were six and I was four or five at the time so I had to wait.
"On my sixth birthday I went down and joined in the class, fell in love with it and I've been doing it ever since. I've reached my goal so far."
Woolley was the second athlete after Canoe slalom racer Liam Jegou to be selected by Team Ireland for the Tokyo Olympics
Being Ireland's first Olympian in taekwondo certainly does not faze the self-assured Tallaght athlete.
In fact, he embraces it, and wants youngsters to discover a passion for the sport after watching him, as he did after following in his brother's footsteps.
"As a young athlete coming up and wanting to qualify for the Olympics, I knew there was nobody before me and I knew there was nobody at the time that could have pushed for it.
"Missing out on Rio, I was devastated but I wanted to be the first in history from Ireland to do it, so there's absolutely no pressure there.
"I enjoy it, seeing a lot of kids look up to you. The first time you ever sign somebody's armour or headgear, it's surreal, but it's a nice feeling.
"Being a role model is baffling to me because I just see myself as Jack Woolley, the young athlete who trains and tries his best in the ring, but it's definitely something that I enjoy.
Of course, as you would expect with an Olympian, a berth in Tokyo is the only the opening chapter of what he hopes is a historic tale, and Woolley is remarkably upbeat about his prospects.
"Oh 100%," he said with unshakable confidence when asked if he considers himself a contender for a medal.
"If anyone goes into an Olympic Games looking to participate or get a bronze, I don't think they should be there.
"You should be aiming for the top. Everyone wants to be an Olympic champion but if I go out there and give it my best, I'm unstoppable, so I don't see any reason why I won't come home as a champion."
You can listen to the full interview with Jack Woolley on Monday's edition of Sportsound Extra Time from 18:05 GMT on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds.