Trinity College Dublin Students to Compete at London Olympic Games

Jul 26, 2012

Trinity College Dublin will be represented by two highly talented students in ‘Team Ireland’, Mark Kennelly and Natalya Coyle, at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Mark Kenneally, Mark Pollock, Aine Ni Choisdealbha and Natalya Coyle after the Olympic Torch Relay in Dublin.

PhD student Mark Kenneally achieved his Olympic marathon qualification at the Amsterdam Marathon October 2011, having previously represented Ireland at European and World Cross Country Championships. Mark has represented Trinity College Dublin with great distinction over the years and his outstanding academic and sporting abilities were recognised by the College through Sports Scholarships in 2002 and 2003. Mark started his athletics career with Raheny Shamrock AC in the late 1990’s and is now with Clonliffe Harriers AC.  He has successfully balanced his pursuit of excellence in sport and scholarship while at Trinity. Having graduated with a BSc in Physiotherapy, he is currently a PhD student in Physiology, as well as running his own physiotherapy practice.  Mark is the reigning National Senior 10,000m champion and was awarded the Athletics Ireland Cross-Country Athlete of the Year title in 2010.

Business Economic and Social Studies student Natalya Coyle, finished 21st in the 2012 World Cup Final of Modern Pentathlon in China last May to secure her place on Team Ireland.  From Tara, Co. Meath, Natalya, now 21, took up the sport in 2008 following Irish Pony Club Tetrathlon competitions as a junior and is the first Irish competitor to qualify in Modern Pentathlon since the Moscow Games of 1980.  Natalya’s sporting abilities are reflected in her current 35th World Senior Ranking position and previous 10th place World Junior Ranking. As a TCD sports scholarship recipient in 2010 and 2011, Natalya has also dominated at Irish Intervarsity level.  A multi-talented athlete, Natalya balances the demands of competing at such a high level in five sports, together with the academic commitments of studying for a degree and has been afforded academic flexibility by Trinity College Dublin in order to qualify and compete at the 2012 Olympic Games.

On June 6th last, Mark and Natalya along with student, Aine Ni Choisdealbha, and alumnus Mark Pollock represented Trinity in the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay when it came through the street of Dublin.

Mark and Natalya will be in action on the final day of the London Olympic Games on Saturday 12 August. Natalya will start competing at 9.00am and Mark will take to the start line of the Marathon at 11.00am.

The College community wishes Mark and Natalya the very best for their Olympic journey.