Athletics Ireland appoint Hamish Adams as their new CEO

Athletics Ireland have announced the appointment of New Zealand native Hamish Adams as their new chief executive officer - thus leaving his current role as CEO with Rowing Ireland just over two years out from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The decision was ratified last night at an Athletics Ireland board meeting, and Hamish will succeed current CEO at Athletics Ireland John Foley, who had announced that he is retiring at the end of April after some eight years in the role.

Hamish will this begin his new role Athletics Ireland in May, effectively two years ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, having spent five years as CEO of Rowing Ireland, during which time the sport enjoyed considerable success on the global stage, including the silver medals won by the O’Donovan brothers Paul and Gary at the Rio Olympics.

Commenting on his new role, Adams said: “I feel very privileged to take up the role of Chief Executive of Athletics Ireland. I look forward to engaging with all the Athletics Ireland stakeholders. Ireland has a proud history and tradition in athletics and I look forward to contributing to its continued growth at the commencement of my role as CEO in early May.

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“High performance and coaching as well as the national health agenda to increase physical activity levels are areas I am especially passionate about and I plan to contribute significantly in these areas with the Athletics Ireland team.”

President of Athletics Ireland, Georgina Drumm, welcomed the new appointment: "The board is delighted to welcome Hamish as the new CEO of Athletics Ireland. We were overwhelmed with the interest in the role which gave a positive reflection on how our sport is viewed. We are pleased to have someone of Hamish's calibre and experience to be joining our team.

“I would like to thank John for the significant contribution he has made to every aspect of our sport over an eight year period as CEO and he will continue to do so until his retirement in April 2018.”

Adams left New Zealand some 18 years ago and has been living and working in Ireland since: he moved into rowing from his role with the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA), having worked primarily in rugby with the New Zealand and Irish Rugby Union and was later tasked with the establishment of the Munster Academy in 2004, and then the development of the professional players welfare programme in 2008 with IRUPA.