The country’s first Olympic halfpipe snowboarder has said that competing for Ireland feels natural despite the fact that he has lived in the US all his life.
Seamus O’Connor, 20, from Utah, will be representing Ireland next month at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He is the only seasoned Olympian on the Irish team of five, having reached the semi-finals of the halfpipe at the 2014 Games in Sochi.
He will be competing along with Tess Arbez, 19, a slalom skier, Patrick McMillan, 25, a downhill and slalom skier, Thomas Westgard, 21, a cross-country skier, and Brendan “Bubba” Newby, 21, a freeskier and snowboarder.
After he first stood on a snowboard at four years old, O’Connor was asked by his father, who is from Co Tyrone, whether he would like to compete for Ireland one day. He said the question was a “no brainer” because he had visited the country many times as a child and always felt welcome.
“I have never felt any less Irish because I have an American accent,” he said. “I feel so at home when I am there, and the kindness of the people is like nowhere else in the world.”
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O’Connor, who is funded by the Olympic Council of Ireland, feared he would be unable to compete after being out with a knee injury for eight months. He said that “hours spent on the couch” convinced him otherwise. “When you’re alone with your thoughts and you know that the Olympic dream is out there for you to grasp, it’s hard to let the opportunity pass you,” he said.
O’Connor said the Irish athletes are the “diaspora team” because all either left Ireland to train elsewhere or were born abroad to Irish parents. “We all feel so honoured to be a part of the Irish team, and I hope that Ireland is proud to see us compete,” he said.
The athletes arrived in South Korea early this morning and will make their way to the Olympic village tomorrow. Shane O’Connor, 44, leader and organiser of Team Ireland, said he had high hopes for them. The athletes will have a full week to train before the opening ceremony on February 9.