Donegal badminton star, Chloe Magee, has been named winner of The Irish Times / Irish Sports Council ‘Sportswoman of the Month’ for November.
The Raphoe sportstar has risen 28 places in the world rankings, now at 46, having had her most successful year on the circuit.
Magee all but sealed her place at the London Olympic Games by making it to the quarter-finals of the Irish Championships in Lisburn last week; where she lost to former world number three PI Honygan, 17-21, in the deciding set.
She will, though, have to wait until the end of the badminton season, in April, for her qualification to be officially confirmed. But it looks promising.
“I’m just delighted, basically that’s it sealed and delivered now,” she said.
“I have had 10 good tournaments so it’ll only be an injury that will stop me. All my focus now will go into training for the Olympics.”
If Magee makes it to London it will be her second appearance in the Olympics.
Back in 2008 she beat Estonia’s Katie Tolmoff in the first round in Beijing, a player who was ranked 28 places above her. Korea’s Jun Jae-Youn, ranked in the world top 10, proved too strong, though, in the second round.
With an impressive career and a bright future beckoning and training well under way for the London Olympics, Magee is a noteworthy competitor to earn the title of Sportswoman of the Year, which is being held next Wednesday the 21stof December.
Established in 2004, the aim of the Sports Woman of the Year awards is to recognise the abilities and achievements of women in Irish sports. Further details on the Sportswoman of the Year Awards can be found onwww.irishtimes.com/events/sportswoman/.