Olympic skiing hopeful has Dunmore links

A NORWEGIAN-BORN Irish qualified cross-country skier is likely to have the people in the community of Kiltevna in North Galway following the Winter Olympic Games with interest next February for, we presume, the very first time.

Thomas Maloney Westgaard won't know for sure until January if he's to be part of the Irish team that goes to PyeongChang in South Korea for the latest edition of the Winter Olympics in a couple of months, but as an 'A' standard athlete, he’s already met the required qualifying regulations needed to get him the green light from the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Recently turned 22, Thomas’s story is quite unique. His father is Norwegan, but his Irish roots come courtesy of his mother Celia, who hails from Kiltevna, near Dunmore.