Carlow and Kilkenny athletes make the cut for Tokyo

Two local athletes got confirmation of the news they had been waiting for last night.

Carlow’s Marcus Lawler and Kilkenny’s Cliodhna Manning have both been included in Team Ireland for the upcoming Olympic games in Tokyo.

The competition will be held behind closed doors after a covid state of emergency was declared in Japan.

The sprinters aren’t the only local involvement.

Carlow’s Sam Watson is part of the Irish Eventing team and showjumper Cian O’Connor’s horse ‘Kilkenny’ was bred locally in Gowran by the Brennan family.

Sam has told KCLR that he just feels grateful the games are going ahead and says competing without spectators won’t bother him at all.

You can hear his full interview with Sue Nunn as he prepares to head off to Tokyo here.