On Wednesday, the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) announced the recipients of the Los Angeles 2028 IOC Olympic Scholarships, with a total fund of $345,000 (USD) to be distributed among eight athletes and two teams.
Among those awarded the scholarships were two swimmers: 18-year-old Grace Davison of Ards Swimming Club and 20-year-old Evan Bailey of the University of Limerick.
The funding, provided through the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity Program, and supported by Team Ireland’s commercial program, is designed to assist athletes targeting Olympic qualification.
Per the OFI, Davison and Bailey will receive up to €26,500 (roughly $30,700 USD) over the four-year cycle, paid in three installments annually, to help cover costs such as travel, training, accommodation, coaching, and medical insurance.
Speaking at the announcement, Chief Executive Officer of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Peter Sherrard, said, “We are delighted to back the potential of these young athletes and to support them on their qualification pathway to Los Angeles 2028. Thanks to the support of our commercial partners and Olympic Solidarity funding, we have been able to invest over €2.5m in grants to athletes and sports during the past two cycles, while at the same time providing over €4m to support Games costs, playing our part in contributing meaningfully to the system-wide support of Sport Ireland to assist our member sports. I wish the athletes and their sport programmes every success on an exciting journey ahead”
Team Ireland Chef de Mission for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, Gavin Noble, added, “These scholarships make a real difference in the journey to the Olympic Games. They provide crucial support to athletes who are balancing full-time training, competition, and financial pressures. It’s great to see such a strong mix of emerging and established athletes, all with genuine potential to perform at the highest level in Los Angeles.”
Davison is coming off a strong summer that saw her overtake Danielle Hill‘s 54.87 national record in the 100 LCM free with a 54.80 for bronze at the European Junior Championships. She also picked up bronze in the 200 IM with a personal-best 2:14.05.
She was the youngest member of Team Ireland at the 2024 Paris Olympics and competed in the women’s 4×100 free relay. The team finished 16th with a time of 3:42.67, close to the national record of 3:41.75, and Davison had the fastest split of the squad at 55.44.
Davison also swam the freestyle leg of the 4×100 medley relay that set a new national record of 4:00.12 en route to placing 11th, splitting 55.89 on the anchor.
Bailey is committed to swim at the University of Texas next fall and owns the 200 LCM free Irish record, having tied Jack McMillan‘s 1:46.66 in heats at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. Bailey finished 16th in the event in semi-finals. He also competed in the 100 free, placing 37th in heats with 49.52, led off the 4×200 free relay (1:47.02), and swam a leg (49.02) on the 4×100 free relay.
At the Irish Open Championships in April, he won both the 100 free (49.15) and 200 free (1:47.04), both of which were lifetime bests at the time.
Scholarship Athletes
- Andrew Coscoran (Athletics)
- Aoife O’Brien (Cycling)
- Evan Bailey (Swimming)
- Ewan McMahon (Sailing)
- Grace Davison (Swimming)
- Hollie Elliott (Triathlon)
- Kate O’Connor (Athletics)
- Ronan Byrne (Rowing)
Scholarship Teams
- Basketball 3×3 (Women)
- Hockey (Men)
