Tag Archives: Naomi Carroll

NAOMI Carroll’s journey to Tokyo has been anything but straightforward. The Cratloe woman has endured difficult times from missing out on a place in the Irish women’s hockey squad for the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup, tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and then when she finally did get back to full fitness, the pandemic decimated the hockey calendar. She persevered and has now earned a spot in the Olympic squad. The Clare woman endured a 37 hour flight to Japan, but despite all the travelling, is in high spirits. After the pain of recent years, she knows all about long journeys. “Because our protocols have been so good, myself and my body feels really good. I haven’t been suffering with jet lag too badly. We arrived into Tokyo and spent just over three hours there. We had to get a COVID test, get through customs and immigration and then get on a bus. It was a seven and a …

After enduring heartbreak and injury agony, Cratloe’s own Naomi Carroll has been named in the Irish women’s hockey squad for the upcoming Olympic Games. She spoke with Ivan Smyth. WHEN The Clare Champion spoke to Carroll on Tuesday, she was still trying to process the news that she will be the first person from Cratloe to represent Ireland at an Olympic Games. “I’m over the moon. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m absolutely thrilled to have made the final squad. I didn’t know myself before yesterday (Monday) so when I got the email to say I was in it was amazing.” The road to Tokyo has been a bumpy one, filled with twists and turns as Carroll has dealt with injury setbacks and missing out on representing her country at a World Cup. After suffering from a wretched run of luck in 2018, she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that threatened to end her hockey career before it …