Athletics Ireland today announced its new High Performance Support Coaches for 2023 (Feb 21st).
The announcement, which is supported by increased Sport Ireland funding intended to support the implementation of High Performance Strategy, comes on the back of a hugely successful Tokyo Olympic cycle for Irish athletics which saw Irish athletes achieved thirty (30) medals in targeted championship events from 2017 to 2021. This compares favourably with the twelve (12) medals won across the Rio cycle from 2012 to 2016.
Athletics Ireland’s 2022 – 2028 High Performance Strategy highlights performance coaching as a key area for investment and an area critical to continued and enhanced success. A key action in strategy is to provide direct support to coaches of targeted athletes tracking towards success in 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games, who in turn will have an enhanced capacity to engage with key athletes training and competition programmes, fostering greater integration and accountability towards shared performance goals. Similarly, a related action in strategy is to identify and support coaches of priority performance training-groups, with a track-record of transitioning athletes into senior international competitors, strategically integrated and aligned with Dublin-based or regional hubs, which can provide a focal point for performance and pathway athletes.
The targeted Supported Coaches will receive financial support, prioritised support at major championships, support towards continuing professional development, and enhanced access to performance services.
2023 Athletics Ireland High Performance Supported Coaches confirmed to date*:
Coach Name | Coached athletes include: |
Rob Heffernan | David Kenny, Brendan Boyce |
Michael O'Connor | Kate O'Connor |
Drew & Hayley Harrison | Thomas Barr, Sprint Performance Group, UL Link |
Noelle Morrissey | Sarah Lavin, Ciara Neville |
Feidhlim Kelly | Mark English, Andrew Coscoran, Hiko Tonosa, Michelle Finn |
Jeremy Lyons & Gerard O'Donnell | Sophie Becker, Cillin Greene, Jack Raftery, Sprint performance group |
Joe Ryan | Cian McPhillips, John Fitzsimons, DCU Link |
Emmet Dunleavy | Daragh McElhinney, Keelan Kilrehill, UCD Link |
*Further coaching support contracts to be finalised over the coming weeks
Speaking at today’s announcement, Athletics Ireland Director of High Performance, Paul McNamara commented: “We have seen a greater number of athletes qualifying to major championships off tougher qualifying standards, and an enhanced depth in the performance level across a range of events, resulting in higher medal count. Today’s announcement supports our philosophy of being athlete centred, coach driven, and performance focused. We have developed our HP strategy for success in an Irish context and have sought to add real value to what our coaches are trying to achieve. We are pleased that we are bringing our strategy to fruition and confident that it will enhance performance. We look forward to building further on these initiatives and continuing to develop high performance athletics in Ireland. ”.
CEO of Athletics Ireland, Hamish Adams commented: “Our High-Performance programme has made substantial progress as evidenced by the increase in international medals attained over the last Olympic cycle.
Our current High Performance Strategic Plan addresses the 3 major findings of the Tokyo review and will support us in realising the mission of this strategy which is to have our High-Performance Programme delivering medals consistently at global and European Championships. Today’s announcement will further support us in achieving this mission”.
- High Performance Plan 2022 – 2028 https://www.athleticsireland.ie/news/high-performance-plan-2022-2028
