Another Olympian with his eyes on a medal for Team Ireland is C1 200m sprint canoeist Andrzej Jezierski.

Polish by birth, Jezierski opted to compete for the Irish Olympic Team when the opportunity arose. He is an adopted son of Ireland as he lives in Cork and regularly trains at the National Rowing Centre in Farran Wood.

After winning his second Gold medal at the World Championships in 2005, Jezierski decided to retire from his sport and moved to Ireland in search of work. It was in Ireland that he returned to sprint canoeing and was quickly on the radar of the Irish Canoe Union. In May, he announced that he would compete for the Irish team at the Summer Games and qualified at the European Sprint Canoe Qualifier, held in his native Poland.

He battled challenging conditions to finish in second place and secured his Olympic spot. But the road has not bee easy since then. After qualifying, he promised only that there would be ‘more hard training’, and mixed with his sheer determination, Ireland certainly has another competitor for an Olympic medal.