Ireland’s Siobhan Byrne qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics in women’s sabre by winning the silver medal at the European qualifying tournament in Istanbul.
Nine countries were competing for the two European zonal slots available; Romania, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and host Turkey.
Byrne defeated the Romania’s Andreea Pelei, the tournament’s number one seed, in a thrilling 15-14 match and then lost in the gold medal match 14-15 to Araceli Navarro of Spain. Navarro and Byrne will both go on to compete in Beijing.
Byrne is in her final year of a fencing scholarship at Ohio State University, where she is studying Health Management.
