Hickey: athletes could retire before 2012

IRELAND’S top Olympic official has warned that some of the country’s elite athletes could be forced to retire before the London Games in 2012 if government funding continues to be cut.

Olympic Council of Ireland President Pat Hickey, sounded that warning yesterday as 70 of the country’s sporting bodies came together to call on the government to look kindly on their sector ahead of December’s budget.

Over €100m – almost one-third of the total – was shaved off the sports budget in 2009 and some of the country’s top athletes have also suffered a loss of individual sponsorships.