Aoife Hoey

Aoife Hoey (born 6 September 1983[1]) is an Irish bobsledder who has competed since 2004.[2] She finished 22nd out of 23 in the two-woman event at the 2005 FIBT World Championships in Calgary.[3] At 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), she was the tallest woman at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[4]

Aoife Hoey
Personal information
NationalityIrish
Born (1983-09-06) 6 September 1983
Portarlington, County Laois, Ireland
Years active2002–2010
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm) (2010)
Sport
Country Ireland
SportBobsleigh
Former partner(s)Claire Bergin
Retired2010
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals2010 Winter Olympics
Updated on 18 February 2015.

Bobsleigh career

Aoife and her older sister Siobhán, teamed up in the Winter of 2002 – Aoife as pilot and Siobhain on brake. They received partial funding from the Olympic Council of Ireland but no commercial sponsorship.[5] Following the worst possible start to the 2005–2006 Winter season (Serious injury) they narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2006 Winter Olympics.[6] Teaming up with new recruit Jennifer Corcoran, for the 2007–08 bobsleigh season, Hoey qualified to compete in the European Bobsleigh Cup.[7] She competed in the first two events of the season, finishing fifth at Igls on 22 November 2007 [8] and 14th at Königssee on 29 November 2007.[9]

Following a difficult season 2009–2010 racing in European Cup and World Cup events with brake athlete Claire Bergin, Hoey qualified for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[10] She was named flagbearer for the Irish team at the opening ceremony of those games.[11]

The bobsleigh team of Aoife Hoey and Claire Bergin finished in 17th place at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[12] At a routine MRI scan at the Olympic village, three days before the competition, Hoey was diagnosed with endometriosis as well as three herniated discs in her back. She competed anyway, but announced her retirement from competitive sport shortly afterwards, to prevent further and potentially permanent spinal damage.[13]

Athletics career

In 2005, she was Irish national outdoor champion in the triple jump.[14] She also works for the Athletics Association of Ireland in the High Performance unit.[15]

References
  1. "Hoey, Aoife (IRL)". sportresult.com. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  2. "Aoife Hoey". bobsleighsport.com. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  3. "World Championships Women's Bob Calgary". FIBT the international home of Bobsleigh and Skeleton sports. Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  4. "Irish bobsleigh duo will compete". BBC News. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  5. Success for bobsleigh sisters but sponsors still giving them the slip Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Laois Nationalist, 30 July 2003.
  6. Irish Winter Olympics team to be announced Archived 10 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1), 26 January 2006.
  7. FIBT 2007–08 Women's bobsleigh quotas. Archived 13 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine – accessed 9 February 2008.
  8. 22 November 2007 two-woman bobsleigh European Cup results Archived 13 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine – accessed 10 February 2008.
  9. 29 November 2007 two-woman bobsleigh European Cup results Archived 13 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine – accessed 10 February 2008
  10. Olympic.org 9 December 2009. "Fast track to Vancouver". – accessed 20 December 2009.
  11. "Women's Bobsleigh Pilot selected as Ireland's flag bearer at Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony". 9 February 2010. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  12. "Irish bobsleighers finish 17th at Olympics". RTÉ Sport. 25 February 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  13. Bray, Allison (1 February 2014). "Olympian Aoife Hoey retires after diagnosis led to cripple threat". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  14. List of Irish national outdoor champions. Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, p. 32. – accessed 9 February 2008.
  15. "Committees and Organisational Structure". www.athleticsireland.ie. Athletics Association of Ireland. Archived from the original on January 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
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