Athletics Ireland has announced its new High-Performance Support Coaches for 2023, at the same time as unveiling a strong team to compete in the European Indoor Championships in Madrid.
Increased Sport Ireland funding was made available to support the implementation of a new High Performance Strategy, coming off the back of a successful Tokyo Olympic cycle for Irish athletics which saw Irish athletes achieve thirty (30) medals in targeted championship events from 2017 to 2021
This compares to the twelve 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 the 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.
Rob Heffernan, Michael O’ConnorFeidhlim Kelly and Noelle Morrissey are within the first ten coaches to be named.
“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 the higher medal count,” said Director of High Performance Paul McNamara.
“This 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.”
“Our High-Performance programme has made substantial progress as evidenced by the increase in international medals attained over the last Olympic cycle,” added CEO Hamish Adams.
“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.”
