Treacy blasts Henihan’s OCI comments
Dermot Henihan, chef de mission to the Irish team for next year’s Games in Beijing, said last week during a trip to the Chinese capital that the OCI should have more of an input in the four-year cycle.
Treacy responded to that idea yesterday by saying that the OCI has quite enough on it’s plate as things stand.
‘‘The OCI have a clear remit which is to bring people to the Olympic Games and make sure that, when the athletes go into their hands, they are well taken care of during the run-up to the Olympic Games and the Games themselves,’’ said the 1984 Olympic silver medallist.
‘‘That is a huge remit because the last four weeks is the most vital of all. You can have all the systems in the world in place but if you get it wrong those last four weeks you’ll fall flat on your face. So, their remit is vital and they need to concentrate on that.
‘‘The governing bodies have the job of preparing the athletes with the support and funding from ourselves (the ISC). That’s their job. We all have clear remits. The governing bodies are getting on with theirs, we are doing the same and we expect the OCI to get on with their business.’’
Henihan also expressed his disappointment in results achieved by Irish athletes in Olympic events in 2007 last week, claiming that a large number of those targeted as possible qualifiers for the Games had fallen short of the mark.
Everyone is in agreement that a medal is an outside shot in 2008 but Treacy believes that the stated aim of Ireland securing six finalists in Beijing is still very much alive.
Far from looking at the glass half empty, Treacy pointed to the performance of the 15-strong Irish team at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka as evidence that there has been reason to cheer.
“We are dealing with sports at all levels and we have had the good and the bad. If you look at all the various sports we had a very successful year at track and field.
“In terms of depth we had the most success there of all with people getting to semi-finals and finals and national records being achieved.
‘‘In the rowing we had one boat that qualified for the Olympic Games. We didn’t qualify the boat that we expected to qualify. In terms of boxing, we had five down to get through to an Olympic berth. Four failed and one got through.
‘‘From being there myself I know that sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it doesn’t happen on the day. That’s part and parcel of high performance sport and we are talking on a global basis.’’
Treacy was speaking at a reception for Ireland’s top athletes who were being rewarded by the ISC for their exceptional performances this year under the Performance Incentive Payments Scheme.
The Performance Incentive Payment was introduced in 2006 as a new innovation for the International Carding Scheme. Athletes in the Developmental, International, World class and Contracted categories receive a bonus of 25% of their annual grant when they achieve and agreed target.
The biggest recipients were Katie Taylor who claimed gold at the Women’s European Boxing Championships in Denmark last month and Philip Murphy who won silver at the Clay Pigeon Shooting World Championships.
Both received payments of €10,000 while another 10 athletes received rewards of either €5,000 or €3,000.
David Gillick — Athletics — €3,000
Scott Evans — Badminton — €3,000
Chloe Magee — Badminton — €3,000
Huang Bing — Badminton — €3,000
Eoin Rheinisch — Canoeing — €5,000
Derek Burnett — Clay Pigeon Shooting — €5,000
Philip Murphy — Clay Pigeon Shooting — €10,000
Darren Sutherland — Boxing — €5,000
Roy Sheahan — Boxing — €5,000
Katie Taylor — Boxing — €10,000
Russell McGovern — Sailing — €3,000
Matt McGovern — Sailing — €3,000
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