Anton McNulty
An Achill teenager will be among ten young competitors who will be put through the pain barrier by former World Boxing Champion, Bernard Dunne in a new RTÉ challenge show.
Sixteen-year-old Alice Dever from Saula on Achill Island is the sole competitor from west of the Shannon who will be competing in the new RTÉ show, ‘Ultimate Street Challenge’. The show features ten 16-year-olds from all over Ireland whose fitness will be tested to the limit during the six-part television series with the eventual winner being crowned the the Ultimate Street Challenge Champion.
Alice is one of the best up and coming athletes in Mayo and won a gold medal in the Under 18 girls triple jump in the All Ireland Juvenile Indoor Championships last March. As part of the show, she and nine other teenagers will live together in Dublin for three weeks, cook together and train together and also compete against each other to win the ultimate prize.
In each episode, the ten will work with personal trainer Karl Henry to build their mental strength, physical fitness and team spirit as well as developing a sense of personal achievement. The teens also take part in strenuous training sessions in urban settings such as Grand Canal Dock’s Chimney Park, Spencer Dock, Point Village, Waterways Dock, the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, HSQ, Smithfield Square and the beach at Blackrock.
At the end of each episode, the Challengers will face an Ultimate Street Challenge set by former world champion super bantamweight boxer Bernard Dunne.
Challenges include abseiling from the roof of the Aviva Stadium, a paddleboard race at Grand Canal Dock, a 2km sprint along the Great South Wall and climbing the towering Wheel of Dublin.
At the end of each episode of the Ultimate Street Challenge, Bernard Dunne and Karl Henry will select one Challenger who must leave the competition and go home.
After a nationwide search to find suitable participants for the show, the challengers were picked to represent a range of sporting abilities and interests. Alice is the only competitor from Mayo with the rest of the challengers coming from Dublin and the Leinster region.
The show will be airing on RTÉ Two at 5.30pm on Mondays and Fridays from Monday, December 5 until Friday, December 23.