SPORTSWOMAN OF THE MONTH: CHLOE MAGEE (Badminton): IT’S BEEN a dizzying conclusion to 2011 for more than a few of our sportswomen, among them the Murphys, swimmer Gráinne and sailor Annalise, who have both qualified for next year’s Olympic Games.

And, of course, there was Fionnuala Britton (last December’s nominee) bringing home gold from last Sunday’s European Cross Country Championships.

While those achievements don’t fall into the timeframe for this year’s overall award - which covers December 2010 to November 2011 - all three sportswomen are certain to be contenders in 12 months’ time, not least if they maintain their progress at the London Games.

And joining them in that 2012 Irish team will - more than likely - be Donegal badminton player Chloe Magee who, in November, edged ever closer to Olympic qualification by reaching the final of the Norwegian Open, despite being seeded just four for the event. And, to complete her weekend, she won the tournament’s mixed doubles title with her brother Sam.

Magee all but sealed her place in London by making it to the quarter-finals of the Irish Championships in Lisburn last week, where she lost to former world number three PI Honygan, 17-21, in the deciding set. She will, though, have to wait until the end of the badminton season, in April, for her qualification to be officially confirmed. But it looks good.

“I’m just delighted, basically that’s it sealed and delivered now,” she said in Lisburn. “I have had 10 good tournaments so it’ll only be an injury that will stop me. All my focus now will go into training for the Olympics.”

If she makes it to London it will be Magee’s second appearance in the Olympics. Back in 2008 she beat Estonia’s Katie Tolmoff in the first round in Beijing, a player who was ranked 28 places above her. Korea’s Jun Jae-Youn, ranked in the world top 10, proved too strong, though, in the second round.

Magee (23) has since risen 28 places in the world rankings, now at 46, having had her most successful year on the circuit. Back in June she won her first senior title beyond these shores when she took the Lithuanian International Open, playing 10 matches in three days. She also won the mixed doubles title with Sam.

There were plenty of other highlights through the year, including her defeat of the Indonesian number one at the World Championships in August.

In all, she reached the last eight in seven events that counted towards Olympic qualification, her runners-up spot in Norway earning her 3,400 ranking points - her highest yield of the year.

All going well, then, Magee’s reward for an excellent year’s work will be a trip to London next summer.