Ultimately, the European Championship semi-final was a step too far, but Chloe and Sam Magee will return to Ireland as history makers after winning a bronze medal in Denmark.
The Magees, following a historic medal-cinching win yesterday, were beaten by Danish number 1 seeds and defending European Champions Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen 21-14 21-10 at the Sydbank Arena in Kolding.
The Raphoe duo made history yesterday with a stunning 22-20 17-21 21-12 win over former European champions Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Zieba of Poland.
That win put Ireland among the medals for the first time ever and for the Magee family it was a special moment that surely felt like a lifetime of sacrifice and effort was now really worth it all.
The semi-final against a Danish pair chasing their third gold in succession was always going to prove a tough assignment for the Donegal siblings.
Earlier in the tournament, the Magees defeated Bastian Kersaudy and Lea Palermo of France 19-21 21-16 21-15 and Dutch pair Jacco Piek and Selena Arends 21-17 23-21.
Ireland had never medaled before at a European Championships, but the Magees have changed all of that.
Just 12 months ago, Chloe Magee considered quitting a sport that she’d been in full-time since leaving the Royal and Prior School as a 17-year-old in 2006, when she moved to Jönköping in Sweden.
Last April, a 21-18 15-21 21-8 loss to Turkey’s Ozfe Bayrak in Peru threatened her future in badminton.
A 12-hour flight home meant a lot of soul-searching, but she found the answers and, just a few weeks later, she’d confirmed her place at her third Olympic Games.
Magee has competed at the Olympics in Beijing, London and Rio. She’d attempted to qualify for Rio in the mixed doubles as well as the women’s singles. After Rio, she decided to put all the energy into her partnership with Sam for the mixed doubles – and their ultimate goal is Tokyo in 2020.
