GARDAÍ ARE investigating after Irish Olympic athlete Jack Wooley was violently attacked in Dublin in what is supposedly a case of mistaken identity.
Woolley, 22, who represented Ireland in Taekwondo at Tokyo 2020, suffered horrific facial injuries after he was randomly attacked in the street over the weekend.
The Olympian has undergone lip reconstruction surgery in hospital after he was beaten in a one-punch attack after he was targeted in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity.
According to The Irish Independent, officers from An Garda Síochána are trawling through "excellent quality" CCTV footage in order to identify a number of suspects who were involved in the brutal attack, after the taekwondo athlete and two other people were assaulted on the Liffey boardwalk on Friday.
There have so far been no arrests, but a senior source told the outlet that Gardaí are currently "gathering and analysing the footage to try and identify these people, many of whom were running off in different directions".
Gardaí are focusing on a group of between eight to 12 people, both male and female, who had been part of a crowd of around 200 who had gathered in Capel Street earlier in the evening.
On Saturday morning, Woolley shared an image of his injuries on Instagram, with the picture showing the athlete lying in a hospital bed covered in blood, and with a deep gash in his lip.
He said a gang of around eight to 12 men and women aged in their 20s "began violently attacking people”.
“Unfortunately I was victim to these random attacks as I was just walking by before I was punched in the face by one of these group members,” he wrote.
"Only one punch, followed by ‘my mistake wrong person’, then they continued to run off down the road attacking more civilians minding their own business.”
Woolley added that he was able to stay conscious and ring an ambulance, before going to St James’s Hospital where he underwent lip reconstruction surgery.
Members of Ireland’s Olympic team offered their support to Woolley, including Tokyo 2020 Gold medallist Kellie Harrington.
“Oh my god, I’m so angry reading this, I am absolutely heartbroken for you,” she wrote.
“I am so, so saddened for you. Jeez, if I could give you the biggest hug right now I would.”
