And other curious news about these strange days … a former Lagos street hawker turned Instagram star turned swindler has pleaded guilty to trying to illegally relieve a Qatar businessman who wanted to fund a children’s school of more than $1 million—and has admitted to much where he lived and apparently devoted much of his time to Instagram-posting and money-laundering “Nearly $41 million in cash and 13 luxury cars valued at about $6.8 million were seized at his Dubai apartment along with evidence that pointed to nearly two million victims,” most of them in the United States “The FBI described Abbas as one of the world’s most high-profile money launderers He admitted scams included conning $14.7 million out of a bank in Malta and $7.7 million from companies linked to an unnamed Premier League football club Luxury goods were flaunted on Abbas’s Instagram account but selfies with his cars in far-flung locations were ultimately used by the FBI to build its case.” What’s seldom is wonderful as Tess Arbez found out in 2020 when she took a year out of competitive skiing to concentrate on her biomedical studies in Geneva The talented 24-year-old French-Irish skier was only 20 when she made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang in 2018 She was only the sixth woman to represent Ireland in the Winter Olympics and produced two top 50 results in slalom and giant slalom She had put her law studies on hold to qualify and then resumed them but then switched to a more demanding course “I had started law but I prefer science and medicine and I had to take a full year out of skiing to pass first year as it is a difficult course “But that actually made me realise how lucky we were to ski,” she admits of growing up in Vetraz Monthoux near the Swiss border where she still lives with her family With her passion reignited she returned to the slopes in late 2020 which turned out to be perfectly timed with COVID,  university was all distance learning and on Zoom which meant I could do the entire ski season I was maybe the only person who was happy about the Covid situation,” Arbez jokes “I was skiing in the morning and catching up with my lessons in the afternoon so it was a really busy year but I think it was worth it.” It certainly paid off as she finished 38th in giant slalom at this year’s World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo (February 2021) Getting lots of slope time also helped fuel her love for speed and she could be the first Irish woman to race Olympic Super-G in Beijing next February an event that combines the speed of downhill with the more precise turns of giant slalom “Last year I managed to score 73 points in Super-G To race at the Olympics in speed races you need less than 80 points “It was the first time I’ve ever done that and I was really happy because it means I can now race Super-G in some big FIS events Arbez has always favoured giant slalom over the more technical slalom event even though she did marginally better in the latter in PyeongChang She reaches speeds of up to 100kph at Super-G and is also enjoying downhill now – the so-called Formula One of alpine disciplines – so the world is her oyster if her progression continues With college life returned to normal post-lockdown her timetable was hectic again this Autumn taking classes from Monday to Friday and training and racing every weekend After some exams in late November she will now ski full-time from December to the end  of Olympic qualification at the least The college has also offered to defer her finals (in June) to September if needed If she is selected for Beijing Arbez is hoping to do even better than on her Olympic debut “I hope this time I will be more mature and ski better because the first time it’s really stressful You know the whole country is watching you and your parents are at the bottom waiting for you “The experience was a little unreal because I was so young but I loved it The village was amazing and to be part of and get to know the rest of the Irish team was fantastic.” who caused a sensation by finishing 23rd in slalom at this year’s World Championships has moved from Kronplatz in Italy to joined her training group in Brides-les-Bains (Meribel) this season Her maternal grandfather was born in Carlow and lived in Blackrock in Dublin and her mother Marguerite lived in England before her parents moved to France Marguerite is a genetic scientist at the same university where Tess now studies “I actually had her as a teacher a few weeks ago that was funny.“Now we just want to go to Ireland every summer We haven’t been since Covid but our plan is to make a road trip there this summer if possible.” February 22, 2018 by 2 Comments With the Olympics closing ceremony this weekend saw Ireland represented by five singular athletes who competed in a host of skiing and snowboarding events Though not all of them were born and raised in Ireland they’re all Irish citizens and embody the spirit of the diaspora competing for the country of their ancestors on sporting’s largest stage Team Ireland’s five Winter Olympians met with An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar today who wished them luck ahead of their journey to PyeongChang in South Korea tomorrow morning. Read more here: https://t.co/Yra7Hez6TG pic.twitter.com/sKzE9bko5a — Team Ireland (@olympiccouncil) January 29, 2018 who was born in California with a first-generation Irish American father acted as the Irish flag bearer during the Olympics opening ceremony and ultimately finished 18th of 29 in the men’s halfpipe snowboarding qualification but began snowboarding in Colorado at the age of four O’Connor competed in the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 for Ireland becoming the country’s first Olympic snowboarder in history “My dad got this idea that I was to ride for Ireland in my mom’s homeland as an American-born athlete and it came together perfectly,” he told Reuters at the time Watch snowboarder Seamus O’Connor carry the Irish flag at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang #WinterOlympics2018 pic.twitter.com/VADZYY4GqW — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 9, 2018 The first Irish skier in action at the 2018 Olympics was Patrick McMillan (where he is currently based) while on family vacations The second Irishman (and first in 20 years) to compete in alpine skiing McMillan came 52nd of 85 in the men’s downhill and hopes to continue to develop his competitive skiing skills ‘I’m very honoured to be here…it’s one of the biggest moments in my life’ – Irish Winter Olympian Pat McMillan (@mcwindy) talks to @Darrenfrehill on @morningireland about representing his county in PyeongChang pic.twitter.com/QGhrYmn20C — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 7, 2018 Also skiing for Ireland was Utahn Brendan “Bubba” Newby “It’s dinna time!” Dubbed by Irish viewers as “The Corker from Cork” (he was born there while his father was a guest professor at UCC) Newby was the first Irish half-piper in Winter Olympic history — Team Ireland (@olympiccouncil) January 15, 2018 As Ireland’s only female competitor in Pyeongchang Tess Arbez participated in the ladies’ slalom (ranking 46th of 78) and the ladies’ giant slalom (where she came in 50th of 78) where she began skiing on cross-country slopes before she was yet two years old has also skied for Team Ireland at the 2015 FIS Ski World Championships Tess proudly attributes her personal philosophy to the Samuel Beckett quote Great first run for Tess Arbez sitting within top 50 in Ladies Slalom with a time of 59.47 just 11 seconds behind current leader. #TeamIreland ☘️☘️☘️???? pic.twitter.com/4Eu3pvyW43 — Team Ireland (@olympiccouncil) February 16, 2018 representing Ireland in cross-country skiing this year was Norwegian Thomas Maloney Westgård He competed in in the men’s 15km free (ranking 63rd of 119) the men’s 15km skiathlon (placing 60th of 68) and the men’s spring classic (where he came in 62nd of 80) Winter Olympic hopeful, Thomas Westgard competes in Cross Country Ski. There are two basic propulsion techniques which apply to different surfaces: classic (undisturbed snow and tracked snow) and skate skiing (firm, smooth snow surfaces). #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/mwkrIE4lxF — Team Ireland (@olympiccouncil) January 18, 2018 “I have always had the dream of representing Ireland ever since I was a child,” he told Reuters “I have always had this dream of putting a small winter sports nation like Ireland on the map.” ♦ To me they are all medal winners and champions and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Copyright © 2025 · IrishAmerica Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in Jan 24, 2022 | , Team Ireland has officially named the team that will compete in the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in just over ten days Six athletes have been named and they will compete throughout the Games which will run from 4 – 20 February This will be the eighth Winter Olympic Games for Team Ireland over thirty years and brings the total number of Irish Winter Olympians to thirty-three Beijing 2022 will see four of the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympians return and they will be joined by two first time Olympians This will be the fourth time that Ireland will field a six-person team in the Winter Olympics For the first time we will have a three-time Winter Olympian compete the first time Team Ireland will compete in luge and also the first time that the Winter Olympians attend a pre-games training camp our friend Brendan Doyle who has made such an impact with his story of recovery from violent assault to come so close in the Skeleton is not among those named just missing out on the places for that event which have been reduced for the Men’s competition this year The six athletes who will be competing under the Team Ireland banner are: the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympian is set to compete in the Giant Slalom and currently studies biomedical studies in Geneva Gower’s paternal grandmother was born in Dublin and settled in Skibbereen and is competing in his first Olympic Games The former Junior World Champion for GB is set to compete in the Downhill Cross Country Skiing Thomas Maloney Westgaard he is a well respected consistent athlete on the world circuit in Cross Country Skiing training up to five hours or 58km in once session He competed in the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics fulfilling a childhood dream he had since first watching the Olympics in Salt Lake City as a child He will now be competing in Beijing as an even better skier pulling his first ‘double’ in Austria in November This will be the first time that Ireland will have a luge athlete in the Olympics who set up the Irish Luge Federation herself in order to compete for Ireland The qualified medical doctor was targeting Milan 2026 primarily and a strong showing in the latter part of the season helped secure her name in history as Ireland’s first luge athlete Her paternal grandmother is from Ballyjamesduff Beijing 2022 will see O’Connor become the first Team Ireland Winter Olympian to compete in three Winter Olympic Games and at 24 is already a veteran of the sport His paternal grandparents are from Drogheda and Dublin The Team Ireland athletes are currently at a pre-games camp in Innsbruck where they are training from their base in Mutters “The resilience and determination that these athletes displayed throughout the qualification process and throughout the challenges with which they were faced is a credit to them and we are very much looking forward to supporting them as they achieve their dreams in Beijing 2022,” said Chef de Mission Nancy Chillingworth athletes have endured changes to qualification pathways and have adapted their training on a continuous basis to ensure they could be as prepared can be The fear of a positive test has peppered their journey their steely focus has been commendable.” “There was a lot of competition to get on the team and while the focus over the coming weeks will naturally be on the team it is important to acknowledge the commitment and resilience shown by those athletes who missed out on qualification I have no doubt that they too will have their opportunity to shine in the future.” The official team announcement for the Team Ireland Winter Olympic team travelling to Beijing 2022 is in association with Deloitte Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress