Elsa Desmond (born 6 August 1997), nicknamed the "Flying Doctor" [3] is an English-born luger who competes for Ireland.[1][4][5] She was Irelands first Olympic luge athlete and the Irish flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics.[6]
 Desmond in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 August 1997 Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | King's College London |
| Occupation | physician / olympics |
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Ireland |
| Sport |  Luge |
| Rank | 27th World Cup Overall Women's Singles Overall 2023/2024[1] |
| Event | Singles |
| Coached by | Adam Rosen[2] |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | 2022 |
| World finals | 2019 FIL World Luge Championships, 2021 FIL World Luge Championships, 2023 FIL World Luge Championships, 2024 FIL World Luge Championships[1] |
| Highest world ranking | 10th (2019 U23 World Championships)[1] |
Early life
editDesmond was born in Buckingham in 1997.[7] Her paternal grandparents were from County Cavan and County Cork, Ireland.[8] She grew up in England, India and Turkey, and was part of the University of London Air Squadron.[4]
Sporting career
edit
Desmond began to compete internationally in luge in 2018. Elsa founded the Irish Luge Federation with support from her family to allow her to compete internationally, and continues to be a fully self funded athlete.[9] She competed for Ireland at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the women's singles event becoming Irelands first luge athlete to compete at the Olympics.[10][11] She continues to run the Irish Luge Federation alongside coaching the growing junior team with the aim of ensuring the longevity of the sport within Ireland, while aiming to again make history at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina.[12]
At the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea Desmond was the team leader for the Irish luge team, coaching youth athlete Lily Cooke.[13]
Womens World Cup Season Results
edit| Season | Ranking | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2018/19 | 43 | 28 |
| 2019/20 | 61 | - |
| 2020/21 | 50 | 8 |
| 2021/22 | 54 | 13 |
| 2022/23 | 31 | 71 |
| 2023/24 | 26 | 102 |
Championship Results
edit| Year | Event | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | U23 World Championship Winterberg. | 10 |
| 2019 | World Championship Winterberg. | 30 |
| 2019 | European Championships Oberhof | 24 |
| 2021 | World Championship Konigssee. | 40 |
| 2023 | World Championship Oberhof. | 35 |
| 2023 | European Championships Sigulda. | 20 |
| 2024 | World Championship Oberhof. | 34 |
| 2024 | European Championships Innsbruck. | 27 |
Olympic Results
edit| Year | Host City | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Beijing. | 33 |
FIL Official Results [1]
Personal life
editDesmond studied medicine at King's College London, and began to work at Southend University Hospital in July 2021.[14] She aims to pursue a career in emergency medicine or anaesthetics with the aim of eventually working in the Air medical services.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "Athletes. Elsa Desmond".
- ^ "Luge World Cup: Elsa Desmond on a pathway to the 2022 Winter Olympics". Royal Borough Observer.
- ^ Kantchev, Georgi. "The Mom-and-Pop Operation That Sent Ireland's 'Flying Doctor' to Beijing". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b Fennessy, Paul (January 21, 2021). "The medical student who has made sporting history for Ireland". The42.
- ^ O'Riordan, Ian. "Ireland names six-strong Beijing Winter Olympics team". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Beijing-2022 Opening Ceremony Flag-Bearers". www.olympics.com/. International Olympic Committee (IOC). February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- ^ "Elsa Desmond - Player Profile - Luge". Eurosport.
- ^ O'Donoghue, Conor. "Meet some of the Irish athletes aiming to make the 2022 Winter Olympics in 60 days". The Irish Post.
- ^ "Daredevil doctor Elsa Desmond blazes trail as Ireland's first Olympic luger". olympics.
- ^ "2022 Winter Olympics Games: Irish team aiming to do a 'Cool Runnings' in Beijing". independent.
- ^ "Introducing....Elsa Desmond (LUGE) | d jhbnn#TeamIreland - Olympics". olympics.ie/.
- ^ a b "Dr Elsa Desmond" (PDF). squarespace.com.
- ^ "Cookham's Elsa Desmond helping to bring through the next generation of Luge athletes". maidenhead advertiser.
- ^ Whitehouse, Ellis (January 26, 2022). "Essex doctor competing in Winter Olympics in China". EssexLive.
External links
edit
- Elsa Desmond at the International Luge Federation
- Elsa Desmond at the Olympic Federation of Ireland
- Elsa Desmond at Olympics.com
- Elsa Desmond at Olympedia
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