Paddy Barnes – Boxing

Never short of opinion on all manner of worldly things, the Irish team captain Paddy Barnes has taken on boxing and the world since he qualified in Chicago in 2007 for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and his career took off. He is now planning to become the first Irish boxer to win three Olympic medals but with one twist. After two bronze medal finishes in Beijing and London, he is aiming for the third to be gold. Bold ambitions travel well with the sparky light flyweight from Belfast’s Ardoyne, who qualified for his third Olympics through the World Series of Boxing.