07 Dec 2011
Irish rowing finds it feet
By Liam Gorman
Two years after Martin McElroy took up his post as Performance Director of Ireland’s international system, the wave of change he has overseen is beginning to crest.
Big names in Irish rowing of the last Olympiad – Gearoid Towey, who has retired, Paul Griffin and Sean Casey – will not be part of the programme this season, and Sean O’Neill is now campaigning with New Zealand. But a strong group of under-23 lightweights have stepped into the breach.
The standout result of the 2010 season came from the lightweight quadruple sculls of Justin Ryan, Niall Kenny, Michael Maher and Mark O’Donovan, who took silver at the World Under-23 Championships. And the lightweight double of Claire Lambe, 20, and Siobhan McCrohan, 23, reached finals at the first Rowing World Cup in Bled and at the European Championships in Portugal.
McElroy, who was brought up in County Galway but has spent much of his life in Great Britain, coached the British men’s eight which won gold at the Olympics in 2000. He took over his present position in the aftermath of what was seen as a disappointing Beijing Olympics – Ireland’s two crews, the men’s four and lightweight four both finished 10th. And results at the under-23 and junior level were patchy at best.
From the start, McElroy stressed the need to build a sustainable system where the corporate memory would outlast any coach or team of coaches. Even in times of austerity in Ireland and with no seniors deemed at the standard to compete in the World Championships in 2010 and no promise given of medals at London 2012, the Irish Sports Council have been supportive of the vision.
Funding has been provided for Adrian Cassidy to come in as head coach and Rob Baker to head up the under-23 programme. A talent identification system, led by Nathan Adams, was established in Belfast, with funds provided by Sport Northern Ireland.
Out went the expensive camps on the continent and in came a revamp of the National Rowing Centre so that it could be a top-class training centre – in any weather. McElroy says the cost-saving is considerable. “What’s going on here at the moment in the past would have been run somewhere else and would have been 10 times the cost. Ten times the cost for probably a third of the people.”
Twenty of the top athletes – most of whom have now based themselves in County Cork – have been on a 10-day camp at the NRC. A chef provides meals each day and there are up to 30 ergometers available. The core group were joined by 40 other athletes, mostly juniors, on a weekend camp early this month. McElroy is a major proponent of the advantages of less experienced athletes training alongside elite athletes and modelling themselves on them.
Trials for the season ahead have already begun. The lightweight and under-23 ranks look strong and in the women’s open scull, Sanita Puspure, a Latvian who hopes to gain Irish citizenship this year, has posted good ergometer times. But very few heavyweight men will make the grade. It is a dark spot in otherwise hopeful times. But the eyes of all are on the future: for the young athletes pulling hard on ergometers in County Cork, and for those guiding them, it is all about the long haul.
The World Rowing team values feedback.