Caradh appeals for support as she chases her Tokyo dream
A Sligo woman who has won multiple world and European kick-boxing titles along with national karate titles, has appealed for help from the Sligo sporting public in her bid to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Caradh O’Donovan, originally from the Strandhill Road and now residing in Rathgar in County Dublin has set up an online fundraising page in order to raise the money necessary for her to realise her Olympic dream.
The 33-year-old is hoping to raise a total of €10,000 to go towards travel, medical, nutritional, training and living costs. Sport Ireland recently announced €7 million in high performance funding with none of that money going towards Karate.
This isn’t the first time Caradh has faced an uphill battle. Having claimed several World Association of Kick-boxing Organisations (WAKO) European and World medals since she began her time in martial arts at the age of twelve, Caradh was forced to concede her spot on the Irish Kickboxing team when she was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease four years ago.
“In 2014 my kick-boxing career looked like it was over”, she recalls. “This is a debilitating illness. It caused me multiple hospital visits, swollen joints and extreme fatigue that prevented me from training and also vomiting and diarrhoea that confined me to a bathroom.
“But I decided I would not let it beat me.” Caradh showed she is a fighter both in and out of the ring. She made several sharp adjustments to her lifestyle, returning within one year to become a World Cup Champion.
Caradh’s initial ambition was to represent Ireland in kick-boxing. But due to it not being listed as an official Olympic sport, she needed to switch to one which is offically recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
“My dream since I’ve been a child has been to win an Olympic medal and at my age the only way to do this is to move sports”, she explains.
“Karate is very similar and after a couple of months training I won the Senior National Championships and have represented Ireland at the highest level internationally where I was narrowly beaten by the overall winners.
“I’m making fast progress. I’m now looking forward to being selected for the European and World Championships this year.”
To reach the Olympics, Caradh must travel to a host of international competitions in order to accumulate points to boost her rankings. This is where the real cost comes in as these competitions take place in mainly in Asia and South America.
Caradh recently moved to the 61kg weight category as in this division, there are four Olympic spots available rather than just two at the lower category. She competed in her first World Karate Federation (WKF) ranking event in Guadalajara in Spain in February, gaining some valuable ranking scores despite going out to an Egyptian opponent in the first round.
She recalls: “I got a really tough draw and lost by two points, which is a really close margin in Karate. That girl went on to win the overall pool so I was happy to match one of the best in the world at my first major event.
“I’ve plenty of time to improve even more but I’m now fairly confident that I’ll get there quicker than I originally thought.”
Caradh also last month, claimed her first national title in her new category - helping her in her short term ambition to represent Ireland in the European Championship in Serbia in May.
“That was important as I’m looking to be the number one fighter in Ireland at this weight”, she asserts.
The Sligo girl was due to travel to Austria for another event earlier this month. But the recent inclement weather put paid to that ambition meaning that gruelling upcoming trips become even more vital.
“It’s disappointing”, she concedes. “I really need the points so I will definitely need to travel to Asia and America now.”
Indeed Caradh is facing into a hectic 2018 and 2019 to further boost her Olympic hopes which heaps even more pressure on her financially.
“It’s really frustrating that Karate received no funding”, she continues.
“I know for certain I have the ability to be the best in the world in this sport but Karate Ireland have no money to fund athletes.
“This is why I’ve started the online campaign as I have no other option if I want to get to the 2020 Olympics.”
You can support Caradh’s bid for Tokyo by visiting her Go Fund Me page at gofundme.com/caradhsolympic-dream.