Athletics Ireland chief executive John Foley has defended the salaries of its High Performance staff, but refused to reveal how much each individual is being paid.

Derval O’Rourke and Ciarán Ó Lionáird have expressed disappointment at the level of funding they are set to receive in 2014.

Athletics Ireland high performance director Kevin Ankrom believes the association are fronting up to the challenge of turning talented underage athletes into senior performers.

Athletics Ireland High Performance Director Kevin Ankrom admitted Ireland will be fighting for survival at the European Team Championships first league in Morton Stadium on June 22/23 on the announcement of the team yesterday.

Athletics Ireland publicly rolled out their High Performance plan for the next Olympic cycle at the Gresham Hotel yesterday with the vision of “more Irish athletes winning on the world stage” and a target of 24 medals being won at major championships between 2013 and 2016.

Athletics Ireland High Performance director Kevin Ankrom is “excited” about the prospect of hiring a national endurance coach — Ireland’s first full-time athletics coach — whom he hopes to identify next week after the interview process concludes today.

Athletics Ireland high performance director Kevin Ankrom has said they have opportunities for medals this weekend at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg.

Brian Gregan feels ready for any challenge at the European Indoor Track and Field Championships in his bid to win his first senior international 400m medal in Gothenburg on March 1-3 as part of a strong Irish team.

Athletics Ireland High Performance Director Kevin Ankrom last night confirmed that a women’s team will compete at the World Cross Country Championships in Poland next month.

The historic Irish women’s European cross country winning team are unlikely to compete at the World Championships in Poland in March according to Athletics Ireland High Performance Director Kevin Ankrom.

She probably won’t go on to win a medal like Katie did, she may not even achieve her primary goal of running a national record and personal best, but yesterday Derval O’Rourke proved again what a champion she is.

One of Ireland’s top athletics chiefs admits to having concerns about Derval O’Rourke’s readiness for the Olympic Games following a betting scandal involving boyfriend Peter O’Leary.

Irish athletics chiefs and competitors last night played down the poor performances at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.

THEY’VE been hunting for a high performance director for years but with little success. Internal wrangling resulting in a costly court case had threatened to tear the association apart at one stage, but Athletics Ireland have finally got their man.

THE chief executive of Athletics Ireland believes the appointment of Kevin Ankrom as High Performance Director will add a ‘huge dimension’ to the organisation and the development of the sport.