BBC NI at the Olympics

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist at La Defense Arena

Image source, Inpho

Ireland have their first swimming Olympic medal since the 1996 Games in Atlanta as Mona McSharry takes a stunning bronze in the women's 100m breaststroke.

McSharry finished third in a tight final, which was won by South Africa's Tatjana Smith with Tang Qianting second for China.

The 23-year-old looked in shock as she checked the screen to see where she had finished, as her quiet confidence about securing a medal in Paris became a reality.

You can read more from McSharry's historic success at the La Defense Arena here.

Earlier, Danielle Hill, from Northern Ireland, has missed out on a place in the women's 100m backstroke final after finishing eighth in heat one at the Paris Olympics.

Hill, from Northern Ireland, swam her semi-final in a time of 1:00.80, which was marginally slower than her time from the heats.

In the opening race of the night, Ireland's Ellen Walshe finished in eighth place in the women's 400m individual medley.

Walshe set a time of 4:40.70 in the final, which was won by Canada's 17-year-old superstar Summer McIntosh.

Daniel Wiffen returns to the pool on Tuesday night as he looks to win Olympic gold in the men's 800m freestyle.

Image source, Inpho

Ireland have qualified for the quarter-finals of the women's Rugby Sevens despite a 19-14 defeat by Australia at the Stade de France.

As Ireland qualified as the best third-placed team, the sides will face off again in the last-eight tie at 22:30 BST.

Faith Nathan scored for Australia inside the opening minute but Eve Higgins converted her own score to draw Ireland level in the sixth minute.

Australia hit back and Levi Teagan touched down in the final play of the half for a 12-7 half-time lead.

Levi Maddison extended the Aussie's lead after the restart, and Higgins grabbed her own converted score in the closing stages to set up a grand stand finish.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist at the North Paris Arena

Image source, Inpho

Ireland's Kellie Harrington has moved one step closer to retaining her Olympic gold medal after defeating Italy's Alessia Mesiano in the last 16.

The victory, by unanimous decision, means that Harrington is one bout away from her second Olympic medal after she won women's 60kg gold in Tokyo.

The 34-year-old Dubliner immediately looked to get to work at the North Paris Arena, landing some strong blows on the Italian who, to her credit, was able to counter - albeit without the ferocity of Harrington.

The first round went to Harrington, and the second followed as more strong connections saw the judges favour the Irish fighter.

She didn't let off in the final round as she wrapped up a convincing victory.

Harrington will fight the winner of Kosovo's Sadiku Donjeta and Columbia's Angie Paolo Valdez in the quarter-finals on Wednesday 31 July.

After a poor start for Ireland's boxers, as Dean Clancy, Aidan Walsh and Grainne Walsh all exited after their first bouts, wins for Jack Marley and Harrington have put the Irish boxing team in a stronger position.

Image source, Inpho

Ireland have made it through to the quarter-finals of the Olympic rugby sevens despite defeat to Australia in their final pool game.

Allan Temple-Jones' side put in a spirited performance in the 19-14 reverse and will likely feel they could have taken something from the contest if not for some handling errors close to the Australian line.

Having fallen behind with fewer than 30 seconds on the clock, Ireland would strike back when an excellent Erin King offload set up the first of Eve Higgins' two scores.

Teagan Levi had put Australia back in front before the break but the game swung on Maddison Levi's second-half score, coming when Ireland were attacking in search of an equalising try only to be turned over and concede from deep on the counter.

Higgins would go over again in the closing stages but, despite Australia finishing with six after a yellow card for Tia Hands, Ireland could not force another score in the final seconds.

The defeat meant Ireland had to wait for their quarter-final place to be confirmed by later results but they now know they will face either a rematch with Australia or New Zealand in the last eight this evening.

Image source, Getty

Conor Hall and Great Britain team-mates Tom Hall and Alex Wise have been eliminated from the Men's Team archery competition.

Belfast's Hall is making his Olympic debut in Paris.

GB were beaten 6-0 by the Chinese Taipei trio of Zih-Siang Lin, Chih-Chun Tang and Yu-Hsuan Tai.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist at La Defense Arena

Image source, Getty Images

Double world champion Daniel Wiffen is safely through to the final of the 800m freestyle after winning his heat.

In the fourth and final heat, Ireland swimmer Wiffen settled into the race in third position behind the Australian pair of Elijah Winnington and Samuel Short.

The 23-year-old edged past Short at the halfway mark, and made his move on Winnington with 300m remaining.

His time of 7:41.53 meant he was the fastest qualifier for the final, which takes place on Tuesday at 20:00 BST.

Earlier in the pool, Danielle Hill produced a strong swim to finish in fourth place in her heat and sneak into the semi-finals in 16th position.

In the first event of the day, Ireland's Ellen Walshe produced a stunning final leg to go from seventh to fourth and qualify for the 400m individual medley final the in seventh overall.

Nigel Ringland
BBC Sport NI Senior Journalist at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium

Image source, Inpho

Ireland put in a battling performance against the world number three side Australia, losing 2-1.

Australia took control from the first quarter, and opened the scoring through Corey Weyer after Ireland failed to clear their lines from a penalty corner.

Ireland had a far more attacking philosophy than in their opening game against Belgium and levelled the game through Lee Cole in the second quarter.

Mark Tumilty's side were less than a minute away from taking that score line into half-time when from another corner, the shot hit Cole on the shin pad and from the resulting penalty stroke, Blake Govers made no mistake.

Ireland stuck to their task in the second half and created a number of half chances but just couldn’t find the equaliser as they fell to their second defeat in Paris.

“I thought we left a few chances out there but Australia had plenty of chances as well so I think we can be very proud of that performance today,” explained Tumilty after the match.

”We asked a lot of the players to be braver with the ball and I definitely think we were and we created a lot more, so I think we've played ourselves into the tournament now.

“I think people need to recognise the challenge we have at the level of teams we're playing against and we're the second lowest ranked team in the tournament, but I think we've proven out there today that we can definitely compete.

“I think the next three games are the three games we would always have targeted, so I look forward to tomorrow and later in the week.”

India are the next opponents for Ireland on Tuesday (12:15 BST).

Image source, Getty Images

Tyrone rower Rebecca Edwards and Chloe Brew have progressed to Wednesday's semi-finals of the women's coxless pair after finishing third in their repechage event on Monday.

The pair recorded a time of 7:37.11 at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

The Denmark boat won in 7:34.57, followed by Spain with 7:38.98. New Zealand were fourth and were eliminated.

The GB crew will join the Czech Republic, Romania, Netherlands, Greece and Denmark in their semi-final at 09:54 BST on Wednesday.

Edwards, 30, from Aughnacloy, also took part in the Tokyo Olympics as part of the women's eight and last year was part of the GB crew which won gold at the World Cup in Lucerne in the women's eight.

Nigel Ringland
BBC Sport NI Senior Journalist at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium

Image source, Inpho

Ireland’s men are set to face Australia in their second game of Pool A in the hockey.

After a 2-0 defeat by Belgium it doesn’t get any easier for Mark Tumilty’s side as the world number 3 side are next on a beautiful morning in Paris.

The temperature is expected to rise to the high eighties as the day goes on so both sides will be pleased to have the early start.

The first weekend of action has been extremely well received by the hosts, France, who have won a number of medals so far.

From a Northern Ireland perspective, three of our big medal hopes, Rhys McClenaghan, Hannah Scott and Rebecca Shorten have all reached their respective finals in gymnastics and rowing and Philip Doyle looked really good on the lake as well.

This morning we will see what shape Daniel Wiffen is in when he makes his Paris debut in the pool in the 800m freestyle heats and Danielle Hill will be looking to make the semi-finals of the women’s 100m backstroke.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist at the Paris Olympics

Image source, Getty Images

Monday blues? Not in Paris!

It's been a busy start to the Paris Olympics for athletes from Northern Ireland, and day three is no different.

Let's take a look at who will be in action on the third day of competition.

At Le Defense arena, which has provided one of the best atmospheres at the Games, Ireland swimmer Daniel Wiffen is in action for the first time in the Games.

The 23-year-old is one of three world champions from Northern Ireland at the Olympics - along with gymnast Rhys McClenaghan and rower Hannah Scott, who have both already been in action.

Wiffen is set to be in the fourth 800m freestyle heat around 10:30 BST and will also compete in the 1500m on Friday. He is world champion in both events.

Danielle Hill, who was in Ireland's women's freestyle relay on Saturday, will go in heat three of the 100m backstroke at 10:15 BST.

Later in the pool, Sligo swimmer Mona McSharry is in contention to win Ireland's first medal of the Games in the 100m breaststroke final.

After a disappointing heat, Rebecca Edwards will go in the repechage for Team GB in the women's pair.

At the hockey, Ireland take on Australia while the Women's Rugby Sevens team face Australia in their final Pool match before a placing match later on Monday.

Conor Hall will be competing for Team GB in the team archery competition while Ireland's eventing jumping team round out their Games in the equestrian.

It's been a difficult start in the ring for team Ireland but reigning Olympic champion Kellie Harrington will make her Paris bow against Italy's Alessia Mesiano.

Image source, Inpho

Mona McSharry qualified second fastest for the final of the women’s 100m breaststroke.

The Sligo swimmer impressed in her heat and then improved her Irish record to 1:05.51 in the semi-final to finish second behind Tatjana Smith from South Africa.

She will now return to La Defense Arena to compete in Monday's final at 20:25 BST.

The 23-year-old will hope to improve upon her eighth-place finish in the final in Tokyo three years ago.

Image source, Getty Images

Great Britain's men sit second in Pool A after a 2-2 draw with South Africa in the hockey.

Team GB, who are captained by David Ames of Northern Ireland, trailed twice in Paris.

Phil Roper and Rupert Shipperley were on target to rescue a draw.

GB defeated Spain 4-0 in their opener and there are three matches remaining before the knock-out stages.

Image source, Inpho

It's been a difficult start to the Paris Olympics for Ireland's boxers.

Dean Clancy lost his opener on Saturday and Aidan Walsh followed on Sunday morning.

However, it was soon three defeats in three as Grainne Walsh was stunned by Anna Hamori of Hungary in the women's 66kg, losing 4-1 on judges’ cards.

However, Jack Marley has got Ireland on the board at the fourth time of asking. He defeated Matheusz Berezinzki of Poland 4-1 on the judges' scores.

Reigning Olympic champion Kellie Harrington gets in the ring tomorrow afternoon.

Image source, Inpho

Ireland's women recovered from losing their opening game in the Rugby 7s against Great Britian to beat South Africa 38-0 at the Stade de France.

Beibhinn Parsons scored the opening try under the posts after being found by Erin King.

Captain Lucy Mulhall Rock was accurate with the conversion but then went off injured before half-time.

Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe registered Ireland's second try just a minute after the break, dotting down after good work from Megan Burns.

Parsons then twice crossed the whitewash to add another two tries as Ireland began to run riot.

Vicki Kinkan touched down at the left-hand corner before Eve Higgins rounded off the scoring with a late try.

They are back in action tomorrow with their final Pool B game against Australia.

Nigel Ringland
BBC Sport NI Senior Journalist at the Stade de France

Image source, Inp

Ireland’s women have lost their opening game in the Rugby 7s, going down 21-12 to Great Britain at the Stade de France.

Two tries from Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe, one of which was converted by Lucy Mulhall, gave Ireland a 12-7 half-time lead with Team GB’s points coming from a converted try from Isla Norman-Bell.

However tries in the second half from Jaz Joyce and Emma Uren, with Norman-Bell adding the extras for both, put GB into an unassailable lead.

Ireland will face South Africa later this evening.

An emotional Aidan Walsh reacts to his elimination from the Paris Olympics after a defeat by France's Makan Traore in the last-32 of the men's 71kg.

Nigel Ringland
BBC Sport NI Senior Journalist at Vaires-sur-Marne

Image source, Getty Images

Rebecca Shorten is into her second Olympic final after stroking the Team GB women’s four to a comfortable heat win.

The quartet - Shorten, Esmee Booth, Samantha Redgrave and Helen Glover - pulled clear by the halfway point and eased to victory over New Zealand to move on to Thursday‘s final.

“We knew everyone was going to step up their game, it is an Olympics after all, but we were always confident we could move on and we did that,” said Shorten.

”We’ve definitely had the mindset of being favourites all the way through the season but if we worry about anyone else then we won’t perform to our best.

”It’s just about how fast we can go. I’m really looking forward to Thursday.”

Aughnacloy’s Rebecca Edwards and Chloe Brew found themselves in a very tough heat of the women’s pair. They finished fourth and will go into the repechage on Monday.

The Irish duo of Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh did clinch one of the three automatic places into the semi-finals.

Making their Olympics debut, Fermanagh’s Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney found themselves in a real scrap in the last 500m as four boats chased three places in the semi-finals of the men’s pair.

With a final sprint the Team Ireland duo edged out New Zealand for third and so avoided the repechage.

”We knew it was tight so all you can do is keep pushing hard for the line,“ admitted Corrigan.

”It was good to release some nerves and get the first race out of the way. We can now relax a little bit for the next couple of days but we are really looking forward to the semi-final. We are we’re we want to be,” added Timoney

Image source, Getty Images

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist at the North Paris Arena

Image source, Getty Images

Aidan Walsh is out of the Paris Olympics after a defeat by France's Makan Traore in the last-32 of the men's 71kg.

Four judges favoured the French fighter, while one official scored the fight as a draw.

When the result was announced, Walsh held his opponent's arm up in the air as Traore took in the acclaim of the home support, who had been raucous throughout the bout.

Walsh, 27, was awarded a cagey first round, in which both fighters had to be reminded to engage - much to the disgust of the French support.

Traore was the aggressor in the second round, but every attempt to set upon Walsh was met with a resilient counter punch. However, all but one judge favoured the French fighter.

Walsh was caught early in the final and deciding round as the decibels rose in the North Paris Arena.

The Irish fighter was then docked a point for holding, and that gave Traore the buffer he required as he unanimously took the final round.

Walsh was the only medallist from Northern Ireland at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago and returned to the ring for the Olympics after taking 14 months away from the sport to focus on his mental health.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist in Paris

Image source, Getty Images

Day one is in the books.

It's been a wet and wild opening to the Paris Olympics, both with the weather in Paris and the sports in which athletes from Northern Ireland have been competing.

Now, what does the second day of action have in store?

From rowing to boxing, let's take a look.

Aidan Walsh, the only athlete from Northern Ireland to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is back in action on Sunday morning at 10:32 BST.

Walsh, who qualified at the final attempt after taking 14 months away from the sport, faces home favourite Makan Traore in a difficult draw in the last-32 of the men's 71kg.

There are plenty of rowers from Northern Ireland in action on Sunday. Rebecca Shorten will compete in the women's four alongside double Olympic champion Helen Glover (11:30 BST), while Rebecca Edwards will also be aiming to escape the heats in the women's pair (9:30 BST).

Fermanagh duo Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan take to the water for Ireland in the men's pair at 10:00 BST.

After a successful start in the hockey, David Ames will lead GB against South Africa in their second group match while Ashleigh Orchard could feature as Ireland start their Women's Rugby Sevens campaign against Great Britain at 14:30 BST and South Africa (18:00 BST).

Don't forget, you can stay right up to date with how athletes from Northern Ireland with our rolling page.