Three-time Olympian Brendan Boyce has announced his retirement from international race walking, bringing the curtain down on a distinguished career representing Ireland at the highest level.
The Donegal athlete, who secured a superb top-ten finish in the 50km race walk at the Tokyo Olympic Games, confirmed that his final appearance in an Irish vest came at the 2025 European Race Walking Team Championships in Poděbrady, Czech Republic.
Boyce will bring his competitive career to a close on home soil when he lines up at the Robert Heffernan Mile in Cork on September 5.
It will mark the end of a career which saw Boyce represent Ireland at three Olympic Games and numerous World and European Championships, establishing himself as one of Ireland’s leading race walkers.
Boyce made his senior international debut at the European Race Walking Cup in Poděbrady in 2011, competing over 20km. He subsequently established himself over the longer 50km distance and achieved the Olympic qualifying standard for London 2012, where he finished 26th.
He returned to the Olympic stage at Rio 2016, improving to 19th, before producing his best Olympic performance at Tokyo 2020, finishing an outstanding 10th in the 50km walk.
Among the other highlights of Boyce’s career was a sixth-place finish at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, one of the finest championship performances of his career. Earlier that year he recorded his 50km personal best of 3:48:13.
Poděbrady would remain a significant location throughout Boyce’s international career, from his first appearance in an Irish vest in 2011 through to his final international competition there in 2025.
Confirming his retirement, Boyce said:
“I last competed at the 2025 European Race Walking Championships in Poděbrady.
“It feels like the rightful place to lay down my singlet.
“Poděbrady is where it all began for me in an Irish vest in 2011. And it is where it ended in 2025.”
Athletics Ireland would like to congratulate Brendan on an outstanding international career and thank him for his dedication and contribution to Irish athletics.
Full statement available on Brendan’s Instagram account.
