This week Derval O’Rourke is whizzing up a pre-training session smoothie and has stolen a recipe from her husband for a great midweek dinner.

Sprint legend Derval O’Rourke donned antlers and took her marks to encourage people to take part in a festive fundraiser for the lifeboat service.

* Derval O’Rourke’s Booster Bars

Banning athletes because of doping is like picking the low-hanging fruit, former Olympian Derval O’Rourke said yesterday, suggesting that the authorities also need to go after their coaches and managers.

Athletics is braced for further blows to its credibility today when the second part of the World Anti-Doping Agency report into Russian doping is revealed, but Derval O’Rourke knew all along she was being cheated, writes Cathal Dennehy.

The absence of an athletics track at University College Dublin isn’t making life any easier for an athlete who hopes to break Derval O’Rourke’s senior Irish hurdle records in the near future.

Kevin Ankrom’s first contract as Athletics Ireland’s high performance manager expired last night as the first bars of Auld Lang Syne kicked off and, though there has been no announcement about a follow-up, the American is breezily confident about sticking around.

Retired Irish athlete Derval O’Rourke has been given the role of player development manager, working with the Munster rugby team.

Ahead of Cork Fashion Week, five of the city’s movers and shakers tell Claire O’Sullivan what gives the city its edge

Here’s our spoiler-free guide to what you should watch on the box tonight.

RTÉ broadcaster Brenda Donohue today presented the 2014 Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards honouring those who made a significant, and often unheralded, contribution to society.

THE 2004 Greek Olympics was a “wake-up call” for Derval O’Rourke. A bout of severe food poisoning and appendicitus meant she was in hospital for six days just four weeks before the games. Doctors’ advice was to remove her appendix, skip the games, and recover.

The hurler and footballer and soccer player on the ditch is a great fella for tradition. This can be a nuisance for brave, forward-looking men like Páraic Duffy and Pete Winkelman.

A text message at 9:33am yesterday morning from Derval O’Rourke signalled the end of a glittering career for one of Ireland’s most medalled athletes.

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.

Irish Olympian Derval O’Rourke has called on Athletics Ireland to become more athlete-focused when considering financial outlay in future.

Colin Griffin has no regrets about taking a step back from his athletics career last month. But now he hopes the sport can take a giant leap forward in how it deals with elite competitors.

Derval O’Rourke has expressed frustration at the wait to receive her European indoor bronze medal.

Cork Olympians Derval O’Rourke and Peter O’Leary jetted off on honeymoon last night after tying the knot in picturesque Parknasilla, Co Kerry, at the weekend.

Crystal Swing matriarch Mary Murray Burke has said she’s “amazed” with the online reaction that the band’s latest music video is receiving and said it demonstrates “we can laugh at ourselves”.

“I am the opposite of a bridezilla,” she says.

Olympic sprinter Derval O’Rourke cleared an unusual set of hurdles to encourage people to help one of her favourite charities.

It was a case of “deja vu” for Fionnuala Britton and part of a childhood ambition achieved for Ciaran O’Lionaird as they led a successful Irish team homecoming from the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg with their bronze medals in the 3,000 metres to a small but intimate crowd at the arrivals hall in Dublin airport yesterday evening.

Sonia O’Sullivan believes success “should be expected” by Irish athletes at the European Indoor Championships, which begin this morning in Gothenburg.

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

She may be the fastest woman in Ireland but sprint champion Ailís McSweeney was fashionably late for her wedding yesterday.

For an organisation supposedly in dire financial trouble, RTÉ seems to have a surprisingly small workforce.

1. Ailis McSweeney revealed Derval O’Rourke’s preparations in intimate detail: “She was in her own bed with her coaches in comfortable surroundings until two days ago.”

The fairytale ending may not have materialised but Derval O’Rourke had few regrets as she bade farewell to her third and final Olympic Games in London last night.

If Derval O’Rourke runs like she is capable of running she will make tonight’s final of the women’s 100m hurdles at the Olympic Stadium, according to her coach Sean Cahill.

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.

Derval O'Rourke has qualified for the semi-finals of the Women's 100m hurdles with a season's best time of 12.91 seconds.

Derval O’Rourke begins her London 2012 campaign at the Olympic Stadium this morning when she competes in the first round of the 100m hurdles.

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.

Derval O’Rourke, renowned for her fighting spirit come championship time, has done the work, made the sacrifices and is ready to make a big impact in the Olympic Stadium next week.

Derval O’Rourke’s participation in next month’s London Olympics is in doubt after she pulled out of yesterday’s defence of her 100m hurdles title at the Woodies DIY national championships in Morton Stadium.

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

This weekend's World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Istanbul are surely going to whet the appetite in terms of what lies ahead for the rest of the year.

New technology that examines in forensic detail the movements of Derval O’Rourke as she scales hurdles has allowed the Cork woman to highlight an injury that affected her performance at the recent Irish indoor championships, while also giving her the best possible preparation for the upcoming world indoor championships in Istanbul (March 9-11).

A lot of the time people don’t know it’s her. They just think she looks a lot like “that athlete”.