NAME: ELLIS O’REILLY SPORT: Gymnastics AGE: 18 COUNTRY OF BIRTH: United Kingdom

IRISH CONNECTION: Her grandfather is from Armagh Ellis made a little bit of history last April when she became the first female gymnast representing Ireland ever to qualify for an Olympic Games. Although born and raised in London she has been competing for Ireland since she was a young teenager and last year won three silver medals at the Northern European Championship. But in the last few weeks she has an even bigger reason to do her best at the Rio games. ‘My grandfather was from Armagh and he passed away two weeks ago,’ she explained. ‘So that’s even more of a driving factor for me to go out there and do him proud. He always said to me that he wanted me to represent Ireland and it’s something I wanted to do then.

‘Since I’ve taken the Irish route, it’s given me so many opportunities and the pinnacle will be Rio.’

The 18-year-old, who took up gymnastics when she was six, trains out of the Europa Gymnastics Club in London and is coached by Sam James.

Ellis will be hoping to make an impression in Rio alongside Kieran Behan, the only other Irish gymnast competing the 2016 games.

And Irish sports bosses are hoping Ellis’s success will help inspire young girls to take up gymnastics and follow in her footsteps.

Training at her level is not for the faint-hearted, she’s in the gym six days a week, for at least four hours at a time.

She has also spent this year studying for her A-Levels at Chisleworth School for Girls in south London and hopes to study physical education at the University of Greenwich next year.