Irish Olympic hopefuls talk to Hot Press

With the Games of the XXX Olympiad - or the 30th Olympic Games to you and me - only seven short months away, Hot Press caught up with some of the Irish contingent and gathered their thoughts as they prepare for London and the biggest test of their careers.

The latest edition of Hot Press features an in-depth panel interview with four very different athletes; a boxer, a badminton player, a sailor and a sprinter. All four are confident of their chances, not least proud pugilist John Joe Neven, who was quick to engage in some fighting talk.

"I can pull anything off if I perform," says Neven. "When I went to the last Olympics I was 18 years old, I was only a baby. I was very cocky, you know how teenagers are! Now I’ll be one of the big guns, so if I bring my A game to the ring I can beat anyone.”

Describing the sensation of stepping between the ropes and into an Olympic ring, he says; “It’s a good feeling. To represent your country is always going to be exciting. I’m boxing better and I’ll be 23 when the Games start, so I’m peaking right about now. That said, there’s always nerves. It’s a good partner, nervousness. It keeps you on edge. If you’ve no nerves, you’re in a bad situation.”

Also fancying their chances is sailing sensation Annalise Murphy who feels that the timing of the Games couldn't be better.

“If you’d asked me three years ago what my chances were, I would have laughed," she reveals. "I didn’t think I was good enough to go yet, I hoped maybe for 2016, but last year I had such a good one and I’ve been getting progressively better. At my first European championships, there was this American girl, Paige Railey, who was unbeatable in the world. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I would absolutely love to be her!’, I thought she was the most amazing person I’d ever seen, I was in awe of her. Now, she’s a person that I regularly beat!”

For more insights from Neven, Murphy, sprinter Jason Smyth and badminton ace Chloe Magee, make sure to pick up a copy of the first Hot Press of 2012, featuring rap superstar-in-waiting Azealia Banks on the cover, in stores Thursday.