Sanita Pušpure – Rowing

Age: 34. Event: Single sculls. Hometown: Riga, Latvia

Although born and raised in Latvia, Puspure has been extremely dedicated to the Irish rowing cause for almost a decade now, moving to Ireland in 2006 after her husband got a job here. She gained Irish nationality in 2011, and a year later provided Ireland’s only interest in the rowing events at the London Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals. She’s made considerable improvements in the four years since, including a bronze medal won at the European Championships in Germany back in May, and a repeat of that sort of form in Rio could see her make the final.

Ian O'Riordan

Ian O'Riordan

Ian O'Riordan is an Irish Times sports journalist writing on athletics