It’s never just about the medals. It’s how you build the right platform, with the right support that makes the natural evolution of a world-class system.
That is what Sport Ireland has laid out in the High-Performance strategy they launch weeks out from the Tokyo Games and which is already looking like a winner.
The strategy is based on seven pillars including Investment, Support, Structures, Partnerships, Facilities and Innovation and while it is built in order to deliver in the long term, it will always be judged in an immediate fashion.
There is a very real possibility this could become our most successful ever Games in terms of Medal beating the five won and Melbourne in 1956 and the Six we secured at London 2012.
Lifetime Dreams
We will welcome back those who have taken part but especially those who have launched themselves into our hearts by standing on a podium after achieving their lifetime dreams.
Everyone will know their names, we will all have become experts in their sport and then the vast majority will move along.
Out on the Sport Ireland campus though they will be looking at a different number as the platform for that success, the number of Top Ten performances our Irish athletes have managed.
That is what Paul McDermott and Niamh O’Sullivan will be highlighting in their post Games review and on that score things are looking good.
Knowing the Target
Success is based on hard work, talent, and knowing where the target is or should be.
The High-Performance Strategy lays out a medal target of 3-4 for Tokyo, for which we are already well on target, rising to 5-7 for Paris and 8-10 in Los Angeles.
The Top 10 target for these games is 10-15, similar to recent games but converting better than we did in Rio.
We had nine Top 10’s in Beijing, 14 in London and 16 in Rio. They converted to 3,6 and 2 medals respectively.
Our target’ countries are similarly sized Denmark and New Zealand. Their Top 10 numbers were 18, 30 and 30 for Denmark, delivering 7, 9 and 15 medlas; and 32, 40 and 45 for the Kiwi’s garnering 9, 13 and 18 medals.
The occasional emergence of a natural genius is great but the consistency of support, training and investment that is our stated aim delivers far more in the long run.
Ambition
Our ambition should be and now is from 2028, to be winning a double-figure number of medals. That is the total number we won across 10 games from Mexico City in 1968 to Athens in 2004.
Yes, it is right to cherish our Olympic heroes of the past. But that is for the soft-focus lens and the poets. The best we can do to honour them is to make the Olympic games a happy hunting ground across a multitude of sports, and in so doing, create a fountain of inspiration to light up the hopes and dreams of our children.
So far we have secured Top 10 finishes in Rugby 7’s in two boxing weight categories, in four rowing events, almost certainly in Hockey and in one swimming event. We are only one-quarter way through the Tokyo Olympics and we are shaping up very nicely indeed. It’s not by accident or luck anymore.
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