Governing body defends ‘athlete-focused, coach-driven’ grants

Athletics Ireland chiefs last night launched a stout defence of how they distribute their High Performance budget.

The move follows hard-hitting comments from former world champion Derval O’Rourke in her Irish Examiner column yesterday where she questioned the breakdown of spending by the governing body.

In a statement released to the Irish Examiner, Athletics Ireland said that: “the core objective of the Athletics Ireland High Performance Plan is to have more Irish athletes winning on the world stage.