Tokyo 2020: Team Ireland profiles - Carolyn Hayes (Triathlon)

Hayes put medical career on hold to focus on Tokyo Games

Carolyn Hayes competes during the World Triathlon Championship Series Yokohama in May. Photograph: Nobuo Yano/Getty Images

Sat Jul 17 2021 - 02:30

Age: 33

Event: Women's Individual Triathlon

Club: Limerick Triathlon Club

Hayes sealed a ticket to her first Olympic Games in Tokyo after a brilliant silver at the World Triathlon Cup in Lisbon last May. She followed that up with 10th place in her third World Triathlon Championship Series event, June's WTCS in Leeds. It was only in 2018 she put her life as a full-time doctor on hold to pursue her dream of representing Ireland in Tokyo. Before triathlon, which she discovered at UL, Hayes played hockey and represented Ireland in water polo. She's also completed both the Dublin and New York marathons.