Sonia O’Sullivan: Athletes and Athletics Ireland need to ask the hard questions

The Olympics has long been that stage where athletes can experience the highest of highs and lowest of lows. And now more than ever it’s all played out bare across the world’s media.

This emotional roller coaster for all to see has also become even more exploited across social media.

From the qualification to the team announcement, the excitement of arriving in the athletes’ village to the reality of the competition, social media approval is the latest phenomenon which has taken over athletes’ lives.

It’s easy to share the excitement, only maybe not the reality, when the let down in performance feels like a confession you’re not so prepared for, an answer to your followers that you can’t possibly know within hours of walking off the field of play.

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When you can't even explain to yourself what went wrong, how can you put into words a rational explanation for the TV viewers at home?

In Tokyo the cauldron of the Olympic Stadium wasn’t as intense as it normally is, taking place in an almost empty stadium. From there it was straight into the mixed zone and that obligation to stop and explain can feel torturous at times.

It's why Naomi Osaka chooses when to talk and when to take time to iron out the difficulties before moving forward and sharing with the world.

When you can’t even explain to yourself what went wrong – as many Irish athletes found as they walked off the athletics track – how can you put into words a rational explanation for the TV viewers at home?

Some came prepared and scripted as if they’d been preparing their lines before even crossing the finish line, almost detaching themselves emotionally from the deep hurt that must have been inside.

It’s always easier to talk when there is success and progress beyond what was predicted, but we had very few Irish athletes that performed at an acceptable level of where they even are on the track. I could say field too, except no Irish athletes qualified in a field event.

For athletes on their first senior international team, the Olympics is such a massive leap; the excitement is there but the reality can be overwhelming having not yet taken the European Championships stepping stone along the way.

When all perspective is lost – and the expectation can be so great – it’s difficult to be realistic and find your place on the Olympic stage.

No doubt lessons will be learned, but will anything change? We have been here before and looked around at other sports and their success, at the pathways and environment that can create a positive momentum which makes it impossible to lose, even with the weight of a nation on your shoulders.

We will look back and see the success of the Irish mixed relay team. This is just a glimmer of even greater success in this area if the pool is opened up and more athletes are embraced to share the load, not depending on a fixed four just because they delivered the team to the final. Communication is key and the sharing knowledge is too.

Even Gjert Ingebrigtsen, the father of 1,500m winner Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway, was first to put up his hand and say he has made mistakes with his older sons, Henrik and Filip, but they have changed and adapted and now have a better set-up for Jakob that allows him to be better than his brothers, better than the rest of the world.

Even closer to home we can look at Irish rowers Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy, the best combination to deliver the gold medal, both stepping out of boats they previously shared with their brothers. No doubt a tough decision internally and externally if felt like there was no option but to deliver gold.

Coaches need to make difficult decisions and athletes need to accept if they may be overlooked for someone that will deliver a better result; it’s nice to take part but that’s the lowest common denominator for Olympic athletes.

There was a time when one would reflect on being an Olympian when they were old and retired. Now, being an Olympian is an instant status symbol, something to fall back on and be satisfied with that can deflect from what is expected of a high-performance athlete –particularly experienced, funded elite athletes.

The Olympics is not the end of the road, as professional athletes there are races still to be run, it’s barely the middle of August, holidays and breaks can wait. It’s a long winter ahead, and even longer until the 2022 season and the World Championships next July in Eugene, Oregon.

You can be sure anyone that stops now will be back at high-level training too soon, then the time line of preparation, mentally and physically, will come too soon, and they will be just hanging on come next July. The greatest way to redeem a loss is to get back out and earn a victory, if your peak is now then all fitness cannot be lost in just one week.

[Athletics] is not being managed at the necessary professional level that allows athletes to deliver results that justify the work, time and effort put in

The outline to qualify for Paris needs to be set up soon to avoid the chasing of last-minute times that we saw for some athletes this year. That was made even more difficult by the Covid protocols and travel restriction to get to races all proving energy-consuming at a time when one needs to be conserving and getting to the Olympics in peak condition.

There is an added individuality about athletics, but there is a lack of centralised management from Athletics Ireland and with this comes a lack of any accountability when things don’t work out. Who is driving the progress from here?

There is a lot of good in Irish athletics, but it’s not being managed at the necessary professional level that allows athletes to deliver results that justify the work, time and effort put in. We can and should be so much better when you see the results from youth and junior championships.

Then there’s the matter of funding. Podium, world class and international is a system that was devised three Olympics ago and hasn’t changed since. As it stands, all our athletes in Tokyo are international category and this is how they should be funded at year end. Anything else is a lottery.

When an athlete wins a medal they are rewarded with podium funding. When athletes are rewarded before they are delivering results then there is less ownership upon the athletes to deliver results. It goes back to the simple messages we learn as a child – if you do things well you will be rewarded, then you are more likely to work harder for the reward and have ownership.

Potential will only take you so far and, beyond that, action will always speak louder than words. Now is the time for Athletics Ireland to take more action.