Norwegian skier who jumped at chance to represent Ireland

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

Cross-country skier Thomas Hjalmar Maloney Westgard may have grown up a Norwegian, but the Winter Olympian, whose mother hails from Dunmore, says the Irishman within was always bursting to get out.

So, when the opportunity arose to represent Ireland by tapping into his motherly roots, Westgard jumped, quite literally, at the chance. The process of acquiring an international transfer began in 2014 but it would be December 2, 2016 before he would compete in the green, white and gold in Lillehammer, Norway before later taking part in World Cup events in Estonia and Sweden.

Since then, he has competed for Ireland at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and, most notably, the Winter Olympics in Korea earlier this year. The latter event generated a great deal of interest. Suddenly, due to Westgard’s involvement, a sport on the periphery was thrust into the spotlight.

This is not lost on Westgard, who chatted with Talking Sport upon his return to Galway last weekend. “I mean, it was really good during the (Winter) Olympics because we got really good coverage. It was the first time RTE went to the Winter Olympics so that was a big start and a big development for us.

“Of course, we want to develop the sport a little bit more and we want to get more people on skis. That is probably the best way to go. To try to get some young kids on skis. So, it would be a dream to start a skiing club in Ireland and try to recruit more athletes. That would, perhaps, be the main thing, to grow the interest, while at the same time give you results.”

Competent in his English, lyrical in his Norwegian tone, Westgard takes us back to his early years, growing up on an island called Leka in Norway – a 600-strong fishing and farming community up north in Trøndelag – and spending Summers back in Dunmore, where his mother Celia Maloney hails from.

“That’s right. My mum is from there and, yeah, I have uncles and aunties living in Dunmore,” outlines the sports science student, who turns 23 this week. “I was there several times in my childhood. Every second year. And then they came to us every second year. It was fairly a lot.

“So, yeah, I mean I always had close connections to Ireland – and still have as well. I was never more proud when I represented Ireland in the (Winter) Olympics. It was a huge thing and, of course, I am more often in Ireland now than when I was during my youth. So, I get a bit more time to see my relatives, which is a really good thing.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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