Ballyhoura Native Oisín O’Callaghan named RTE Young Sportsperson of The Year 2020

World Title is only the beginning for Ballyhoura native Mountain Biker!

Oisin O'Callaghan is a young man going places - fast.

In November the 17-year-old realised his childhood ambition when he became a world champion mountain biker.

Oisin won the UCI Junior Mountain Bike World Championships which were held in Austria which was the first time that any Irish rider won gold at the event, and has given Oisin the hunger to strive for more titles.

He has now been crowned the RTE Young Sports Star of the Year for 2020!

While there are many other sports awards in Ireland when we look back on each year in the sport, the RTE awards are by far the most prestigious and Oisin's road to success shows just how far he has come in a short time.

For the RTE award, OIsin O’Callaghan had formidable opposition in Aaron Hill, the snooker player who beat Ronnie O’Sullivan at the European Masters, along with Kildare boxer Katelyn Phelan who was victorious winning the WBC youth title in the welterweight division.

"To make history in Ireland, to be the first one to be a downhill mountain bike world champion, was incredible," Oisin said after being named the RTÉ Sport Young Sportsperson of the Year.

"It all started with seeing my Dad going out mountain biking. Living close to the Ballyhoura Mountains, it was natural to go out and have fun with my friends. It progressed from there."

Oisin had the perfect mentor in his father Chris, co-owner of TrailRiders, the mountain bike shop and service provider at Ballyhoura Trailriders Mountain Bike Hire & Sales and Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails, Ireland’s largest mountain bike trail network in Ardpatrick, to help pursue his ambitions.