‘Sporting Couple’ set gold standard in teamwork
Anybody who knows them talks of the pride they take in each other’s achievements and how they urge and drive the other on, each the other’s staunchest ally. On their joint website, they describe themselves as “The Sporting Couple”.
He, the racewalker who finished fourth in the Olympics and now the fêted gold-medal winner of the 50km walk in Moscow; she, a national 400m champion and part of the Irish 4x400m relay team who broke the Irish record in Daegun and ran a season’s best time of 3:30:55 at the London Games.
At London 2012, they were the first Irish husband and wife to both take part in an Olympics.
Not long after Rob came an excruciating fourth, Marian made the selfless decision last year to take a break from athletics and join her husband’s coaching team so he could maximise their sponsorship funding.
So it was no surprise that Rob immediately attributed his spectacular win yesterday to his wife’s unfailing belief in him.
“This year I just had a better support team, with my wife, Marian... She’s been with me all year and I had nothing else to worry about. All I had to worry about was racing and everything else was taken care of,” he said.
“Two of us are in it together. Everything we do, we do it as a team.”
For her, it was the win she had been waiting 10 years to see: “I knew he could do it... He just needed a good race. Nothing surprised me today. If he was on, he was going to take it on.”
The photos of the couple locked in a hug seconds after Robert crossed the finish line at Luzhniki Stadium said it all.
“I’m just delighted, delighted for Rob, our kids, everything,” a beaming Marian told RTÉ.
“Everything we aimed for this year was that he’d get a result and the fact that he’s come back with the gold, it’s phenomenal, I’m delighted”.
Marian was out on the road yesterday bringing water to Rob, including that last bottle when everybody could see that victory was within grasp.
“Go for it,” she urged before running into the stadium to see him cross the line.
“I had to stay so controlled with the drinks the whole way because he’ll feed off me being anxious or nervous,” she said.
“I thought I had to stay more calm for him than him for me.”
The couple, who live in Douglas, have two children, Cathal and Megan — and Marian is four months pregnant with their third.
Together since 2006, they have made huge sacrifices so they can pursue their athletic dreams.
Aside from their honeymoon, last year saw them take their first family holiday that didn’t involve one parent slaving at a training camp.
