Olympic silver medalist Sonia O'Sullivan bemoans lack of commitment from some Irish athletes

In a recent interview in Australia with Conor George of the Irish Independent, Sonia O'Sullivan didn't mince her words when she outlined her thoughts on the lack of commitment and competitive drive from some Irish athletes. She was particularly critical on their lack of interest in taking part in top meets around Europe prior to major championships to sharpen their performance.

In the interview, she said this about the recent Grand Prix athletics meet in England..."As one of the main meets in Europe and being so close to Ireland, I was absolutely astonished at the lack of Irish involved. You hear and read about Irish athletes doing well, but are they really? Surely if you're at a certain level, you'll do everything you can to get into a meet like that? Then when you go to the World Championships it's not such a jump up in standard."

She was particularly scathing about the lack of ambition and drive from some Irish athletes...."I never before heard so many (Irish) athletes refer to themselves as 'Olympians' – as if that was the greatest thing ever. It didn't seem to matter how you performed there, just getting there was good enough.....Once they got the standard there was a bit of relief and people start to relax.....There seems to be something of an acceptance of mediocrity....You're investing all this money and you're getting no medal or even the satisfaction of the athlete going out there and running well. Where is the accountability?"

Coming from someone who was one of the best athletes in the world, it's sure to ruffle a few feathers.

The full interview and article can be seen on the Irish Independent website

New Balance / Athletics Ireland partnership deal

Thanks to James Cottle who attended this launch on behalf of the Running in Cork blog and put together this short piece below...

Tuesday night, at a well-attended ceremony held at the Market Bar in Dublin, saw the unveiling of the new strip for Ireland’s international athletes to be provided by New Balance. Following signature late last year of a 3 year contract with the AAI, New Balance’s sponsorship, which replaces that of ASICS, will cover performance, warm-up apparel and footwear for the Irish track and field team for use in competition.

From left to right, Irish athletes Jessie Barr, Colin Costello, Ciara Mageean, Fionnuala Britton, Thomas Barr and Ava Hutchinson in attendance at the New Balance & Athletics Ireland Partnership launch event in Dublin...Tues 29th Jan 2013

Although, New Balance is less well-known today in Ireland perhaps than ASICS, it has a long tradition of involvement in the sport of athletics and indeed of support for Irish athletes in particular. We were reminded that the company sponsored Olympic marathon silver medallist John Treacy for over 11 years and also supported Marcus O’Sullivan, World indoor champion at 1500m. New Balance was founded in Boston in 1906 as a provider of arch supports, gradually evolving into a manufacturer of sports shoes. However, it was not until 1972 when entrepreneur Jim Davis acquired the company on Patriots Day, the day of the running of the Boston marathon, that the company began to transform itself into a manufacturer of high performance running shoes, attracting a significant following over the years, partly because it is one of few manufacturers to provide running shoes in a variety of widths.

Tom Carleo, of New Balance, said at the event that the partnership with Athletics Ireland is an extremely exciting opportunity for the company to reinforce its ambition to become the number one running and athletics brand in the World and to get back to the grass roots of the sport. John Foley, CEO of the AAI, also added how membership of athletics clubs and running in general was now booming in Ireland and that the support of New balance would be invaluable for continuing to raise the profile of the sport here, along with the recent initiative with the indoor track in Athlone and the success of Ireland’s athletes in international cross country.