Brendan Boyce

IRISH RACE WALKER

FOCUSED – DETERMINED – ARTICULATE – INSPIRATIONAL

Brendan Boyce was born and raised in Milford, County Donegal. The youngest of seven children in an athletics household, Brendan was a keen sportsperson from a very young age and won his first silver All-Ireland national medal at the age of 7 at the U-8 60m sprint.

Brendan started race walking when he was 12 years of age and at his first ever All-Ireland Nationals Competition he finished 6th. Brendan continued his training in race walking and other various sports and holds All-Ireland medals in cross country, volleyball, table tennis and race walking.

After completing his leaving certificate, Brendan went onto study Physiology and Health Science in Carlow Institute of Technology. He focused hard on his third level studies and attained a Higher Certificate as well as earning a place to study physiotherapy at the University of Coventry, UK.

At the age of 20, Brendan moved to Coventry where he was introduced to Andi Drake (National Race Walking Coach UK) who reignited his passion for athletics and in 2008 continued a more rigorous training schedule whilst studying a degree in Sports Performance at Leeds Metropolitan University.

In the summer of 2011 Brendan graduated with an Honors degree in Sport Performance and three months later achieved his dream of qualifying for the Olympics taking place following year.

After his historic performance in London (finishing 26th) at the 2012 Olympics, Brendan began to work with Rob Heffernan (Former World Champion & Olympic Bronze Medallist) and made a strategic move to County Cork. Brendan trained under the guidance of Heffernan for the 2013 season and produced PB’s in four different categories including the 50km in Moscow at the World Championships where Brendan finished 25th.

2016 was a great year for Brendan’s athletic career where he placed 19th in the Rio Olympic Games. Brendan then went on to finish 6th in the World Championships in Doha in 2019 and qualified for Tokyo 2020.

In Toyko 2020 Brendan battled through nauseating fatigue and viciously oppressive heat in Sapporo, to finish a truly terrific 10th in the 50km race walk.

2022 will be another big year of competition for Brendan where he will compete in the World Athletics Championships in Oregon USA and the European Athletics Championships in Munich Germany.

BRENDAN BOYCE

IN THE MEDIA

Brendan Boyce claims top 10 finish while Alex Wright takes 29th place in Tokyo
Irish race walkers Brendan Boyce and Alex Wright have finished 10th and 29th respectively in the men’s 50km walk. Competing at his third Olympics, Boyce was competitive throughout and put in his best performance at the games. The 34-year old crossed the line with a time of 3:53:40. It was a remarkable finish from the Donegal man given he lost contact with a breakaway group at the 35km mark and appeared to be struggling. Leevale Athletics Club competitor Wright clocked a season’s best of 4:06:20. It is his highest ever finish at a global championship. This is the last time the 50km will be at the Olympics. The winner was Polish walker Dawid Tomala in a time of 3:50:48. Germany’s Jonathan Hilbert took second with Evan Dunfee of Canada in third.
BRENDAN BOYCE

IN THE MEDIA

‘I guess this is the end of the road for 50km so it’s a new life for me after this’ – Brendan Boyce finishes 10th in third Olympics
At the end of 50 ferociously tough kilometres, he had reason to smile as he churned through the last of them. At what is likely his event’s last stand on the Olympic stage, Brendan Boyce battled through nauseating fatigue and viciously oppressive heat in Sapporo today to finish a truly terrific 10th in the 50km race walk. Three hours, 53 minutes and 40 seconds – his time brought him home just a few minutes outside the medals, with Poland’s Dawid Tomala rewarded for his mid-race bravery with gold in 3:50:08, Germany’s Jonathan Hilbert next in with 3:50:44, and Canada’s Evan Dunfee surging to bronze over the final kilometre in 3:50:59.
BRENDAN BOYCE

IN THE MEDIA

The Saturday Panel // Off The Ball

BRENDAN BOYCE

IN THE MEDIA

Dare to Believe Athletes // RTÉ After School Hub Winter Olympics

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