IN BEIJING FOUR years ago, Ireland entered its first triathlete into Olympic competition.
It was an incredibly long wait in a sport which combines endurance aspects of three sports to which we are no strangers.
This week, despite an even more difficult qualification process than previous Olympic cycles, we have brought our Olympic triathlete tally up by 200% with the success of Gavin Noble and Aileen Morrison.
Chris Jones, coach of Noble and Morrison, took up his role with Triathlon Ireland three years ago after working with the British High Performance Institute.
“I came from a hugely established programme which was investing (in the region of) £6 million, but I found it refreshing coming into the Irish setup,” says jones
“The culture in Ireland is ripe for endurance sports, you’ve had Sonia O’Sullivan, Eamonn Coghlan, John Treacy so the island is littered with really good performers in endurance sports. I don’t see any reason why we can’t find world class athletes in Ireland.”
Triathlon Ireland have marked an enormous increase in their membership, from 800 in 2005 to 7,000 today. That base of enthusiasts provides fuel for the elite at the tip of the pyramid.
Noble, is a self-confessed stickler for quality facilities. He marks Roy Keane as a sporting hero and owns up to giving his support staff a hard time over every location.
Six years ago he had moved to train in Scotland, and while he has not fully vacated the location or his house there, he now relishes the chance to move back to Ireland where he speaks in glowing terms of facilities in Limerick and Dublin.
“We have the expertise now,” Noble enthuses, “maybe before Beijing I wouldn’t have thought of moving back to Ireland because that support wasn’t there.” Said Noble yesterday, adding, “I moved away six years ago because there wasn’t anything for me here.”
Beyond belief
Times have changed, though. Jones is the head of a team of dedicated coaches, physios and support staff who Noble credits with laying the foundations of his achievement.
“Sometimes if you’re in an endurance sport in Ireland you think you have to move away, a lot of the runners go to the States now. But in triathlon, we’re almost at the cusp, we can all stay and be professional athletes in Ireland.
“We go away for camps because of the weather and altitude, but the structures and facilities are now in place at home which is almost beyond belief from four years ago.”
At 31, Noble is in the latter stages of his athletic life, but he could not but be excited for the more fresh-faced of his training partners and the great achievements that are within reach for them.
“It’s a positive, not just for me, but for the younger guys coming up through because they know they can achieve the Olympics by staying at home.
“For the younger guys, I’m looking at them and going, f… – not in jealousy – It’s going to be easier for them to reach at their goal and they’re going to get faster faster.”
