Irish have strong chance in Berlin World Championships

Sunday Business Post - Business of Sport - Aug 16 2009

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The Irish squad competing at the World Track and Field Championships in Germany is one of the most experienced sent to a major championship, according to Liam Hennessy, president of Athletics Ireland. Leading track stars such as David Gillick, Derval O’Rourke, Paul Hession, Eileen O'Keeffe and Robert Heffernan are all part of the 14member squad at the championships, which began yesterday in Berlin.

‘‘The majority of these athletes competed in the last World Championships in Osaka in 2007, and again last year at the Olympics in Beijing, so we are lucky in that respect,” said Hennessy. ‘‘There are some great athletes on the team - and you look to the likes of Paul Hession (200 metres) and David Gillick (400 metres), who have been so impressive this year.

‘‘Derval O’Rourke (100 metres hurdles) showed what she is capable of when winning a medal at the European Indoors, so she is hopefully going to be up there,” said Hennessy. ‘‘Then you have Rob Heffernan and Olive Loughnane in the race walking and Eileen O’Keeffe in the hammer. Rob and Eileen were both top six in Osaka and Olive was our best performer in Beijing, with a seventh place finish. I think we could see some great performances in Berlin.”

The team for the championships was decided following the Woodie’s DIY National Track and Field Championships earlier this month at Santry Stadium. It also includes Roisin McGettigan in the 3,000 metres steeplechase, Alistair Cragg in the 5,000 metres, Jamie Costin and Colin Griffin in the 50 kilometre walk, Deirdre Ryan in the high jump, Deirdre Byrne in the 1,500 metres, Michelle Carey in the 400 metres hurdles and Thomas Chamney in both the 800 metres and 1,500 metres.

However, Hennessy said that, given the standard of competition at the World Championships, the majority of the Irish team would be concentrating on improving their performances, rather than winning medals.

‘‘Getting a medal would be a great achievement, but we have to look at it realistically,” he said. ‘‘When you compete at this level in athletics - whether it is the World Championships or Olympics - it is extremely tough to win a medal. Everything has to go perfectly for an athlete, and we have to remember that this is a world event, so we are up against the best athletes from across the globe.”

He said that, if the Irish team could get a range of finalists and see some personal bests, ‘‘we would be very happy’’. ‘‘That would represent a very successful championship,” he said.

Funding

The focus on track performances this month is welcome for Athletics Ireland, after another year marred by familiar political struggles and funding controversies in the generally eventful world of Irish athletics administration.

Hennessy said that Athletics Ireland was happy with the government funding received this year, although the total amount fell from €1.34 million in 2008 to just over €1 million.

‘‘The money is down from 2008, but that is the same for the majority of national governing bodies and we just have to get on with it like anyone in business,” he said. ‘‘The economic downturn has affected everyone and sport is no different. We are lucky in that [Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism] Martin Cullen fought hard to ensure we were still able to get a similar amount of Irish Sports Council (ISC) funding in 2009, considering the amount of cuts that are happening across the board.”

According to widespread reports earlier in the year, the ISC suspended Athletics Ireland’s annual funding after disagreements over internal staffing and administrative issues between the two bodies, while former Athletics Ireland chief executive Mary Coghlan has alleged that ISC chairman Ossie Kilkenny and chief executive John Treacy were behind her removal from the position in June.

Coghlan is currently pursuing an unfair dismissal case in the High Court, and Hennessy said he could not comment on this issue. However, he maintained that any strains in the relationship between the ISC and Athletics Ireland had been exaggerated by the media.

‘‘There are no issues with the ISC and we have our full funding for 2009,which has helped us to invest in a range of programmes - from high performance right down to grass roots and participation level,” he said. ‘‘We work very closely with the ISC on all aspects of athletics. It has been integral to establishing the programmes and structures we have implemented and the success we have achieved in recent years.”

Brighter prospects

After the World Championships conclude on August 23, Hennessy said that Athletics Ireland’s focus would switch to the European Cross Country Championships, being held in Santry in December.

‘‘Hosting the Spar European Cross Country Championships is a huge honour for Irish athletics,” he said. ‘‘We are hoping to put on a great event for the athletes and the spectators. It is a huge undertaking, but everyone is fully committed to making this a huge success, from Fingal County Council to the Irish Sports Council and Dublin City Council. We are all working together on the event, as we have been for nearly two years now.”

He said that Ireland would have a strong team at the event, with a possibility of success for the home team.

‘‘What makes the event even more exciting is the strength of the Irish team we are going to have there,” he said. ‘‘With athletes of the calibre of Martin Fagan, Mary Cullen and Fionnuala Britton we will have a team capable of winning medals. For these athletes to be able to compete in a European Championships in front of their home crowd will give them a huge boost."