O’Leary girls the ‘sister act’ of Irish skiing

Mallow-based girls Isabel and Claire O’Leary are a true ‘sister act’ of the future of Irish skiing.

At the tender age of 12 years, Isabel has just returned from the slopes at Andorra, and her first competition representing Ireland at the prestigious international underage competition, the Borrufa Cup.

As if that were not enough prestige for one household, Isabel’s elder sister Claire has also made her mark in the sport on the international stage… and is set to make an even greater impression over the next few years.

Although Isabel, due to her tender age, will have to put on hold her ambitions to compete at the Winter Youth Olympics until 2018, Claire (15) is on course to compete in the 2014 event.

A major step towards this goal for Claire comes within the next few weeks, as she has just been selected on the Irish team for the World Schools Championships, which will be held next month in the Aosta Valley, Italy.

The World Schools Ski Championship is a biennial competition organized by the International School Sports Federation (ISF). Claire will be among an entry of students from all over the world pitting their skills on the slopes in a bid to attain the world title.

To be chosen for such a high-profile international competition in itself is an impressive achievement for one so young, but it’s doubly so, given that Claire comes from a ‘non-snow’ country, unlike a large number of her international peers.

And for her sister Isabel, the future also looks bright, her recent expedition to Andorra resulting in so much more than ‘the honour of participation’. In fact, among a field of around 200 of the very elite of the world’s young skiing stars, Isabel finished in the top 20 of all four categories in which she competed; the slalom, giant slalom, Super G and combi. In the giant slalom alone, Isabel finished in the top 15.

The girls’ mum, Christine, is proud of her daughters’ achievements to date, and says the family has had huge support in their efforts to ensure that the youngsters fulfill their ambitious dreams.

“They’re both doing so brilliantly. Unfortunately, Isabel will be too young to compete in the next junior Winter Olympics, but she has her sights very much set on 2018, while Claire will be eligible for 2014, so we just has to ensure that she gets the points,” Christine said.