O’Donovan helping GA champion athlete welfare in midst of drive for Olympics
By Stephen Leonard
WHILE continuing her pursuit of Olympic Games qualification this year, local karate athlete Caradh O’Donovan, is also channelling a lot of time and energy into giving athletes a stronger say in how their sport is run.
Previously living in Clondalkin before moving to Terenure, the 35-year-old is hoping to make the grade for Tokyo 2020 while, at the same time, engaging in athlete welfare issues as part of a start-up group of Global Athlete- a new international move-ment aimed at mobilising athletes in order to provide them with a stronger voice in their respective sports.
Caradh O’Donovan will be hoping to secure an Olympic Games berth later this year
O’Donovan, a former World and European champion kickboxer with Tallaght Martial Arts, has enjoyed no shortage of sporting success, made all the more remarkable by her battle with Crohn’s Disease with which she was diagnosed in 2014.
Only taking up karate in 2017, she has had to face challenges of a political nature in the sport which had threatened the prospects of her and fellow competitors competing in major internationals and, consequently, their drive for Olympic qualification.
Turning to the Global Athlete movement for help in the face of a split in ONAKAI- karate’s governing body in Ireland- which had looked set to stonewall European Karate Championship participation for a number of Irish athletes, O’Donovan helped bring the issue to a head and ultimately see it resolved.
“There were political issues that had little to do with the athletes themselves, but still they were the ones who were going to take the hit” explained O’Donovan.
“A lot of decisions were being made for athletes without the athletes having any input into that, so it was unfair.
“There was a split in ONAKAI and, if I wanted to compete in the European Championships, it would have meant me having to leave my club and our association, I didn’t want that.
“I got in touch with Global Athlete and they wrote an open letter to the World Karate Federation and the International Olympic Committee and I think that had a big effect on getting things sorted.
“ONAKAI held an EGM where a new board was elected and both parties agreed that the result from that would be binding, but even before that, the World Karate Federation issued a statement saying that athletes from Ireland should not be prevented from competing in the Europeans.
“There still remains a lot of work to be done to develop the sport, but at least that side of it appears to have been sorted.
“I was since invited to be part of a start-up group of Global Athlete. There are six of us on it at the moment and we represent different nationalities and sports and there are open letters going out to get more opinions from international athletes about their sports.
“Listening to them is like a breath of fresh air. It’s great to hear opinions from other athletes.
“It is important that when athletes face injustices, that they can feel empowered to speak out about it. In 10 year’s time, athletes shouldn’t have to be facing the same battles that I’ve had to face” she said.
It is a busy period for -61kg athlete O’Donovan on the competition front also as she gears up to contest the Ishoj Cup in Denmark next month followed by the European Championships in Baku in March and an Olympic qualifier in Paris in May where the top three will make the cut for Tokyo 2020.
The competition in Denmark will mark O’Donovan’s first tournament since she was forced out of action with a leg injury at last year’s European Championships.
Yet, ahead of her return to the competitive field, will be a five-day training camp in France where she will train with the French National team, starting Friday, along with compatriot Shauna Mullaney who is also pushing for Olympic qualification in the -55kg division.
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