The Galway athletics community came together this week to wish their two Beijing bound athletes all the very best of luck in their respective competitions. Olive Loughnane from Loughrea and Paul Hession from Athenry were given a friendly send-off by family, friends, sponsors and clubmates at a reception sponsored by Irish running website www.RunIreland.com.

There were a few short speeches, a couple of glasses of wine and countless photographs, handshakes and good wishes for both athletes during an enjoyable evening in the Raheen Woods Hotel in Athenry. Unfortunately Olive was unable to attend the event but she was ably represented by her father who accepted a presentation on her behalf.

It was a wonderfully relaxed evening and Paul took plenty of time out to sign autographs, pose for pictures out of number and a smile never left his face all evening.

Galway can be proud of their two Olympians before the games even begin and of course we repeat our good wishes once again. We'll all be glued to our TV sets for the duration.

Athenry AC's 'ace' snapper John O'Connor was on hand to document proceedings and his work can be seen in a gallery at http://www.athenryac.com/image/tid/143