The Irishman leading US Olympic gold rush

Corkman Finbarr Kirwan, formerly of the Irish Sports Council, is now senior director of performance with the US Olympic Committee. His job is putting US athletes on an Olympic podium, the currency he deals in is medals. Billy Walsh has already been tempted Stateside to drive standards in American boxing and Kirwan sees more Irish coaches moving to the US.

The story begins with a fruit — or, as Finbarr Kirwan puts it, the fruit is the story. The Cork native was in Colorado, beginning a new job with the US Olympic team, when he met one of the most famous athletes on the planet.

“We’re all human. You walk into a room with Michael Phelps for the first time, you know there’s an expectation, that you’re in the room for a reason. You’ve earned the right to be in the room but you definitely feel that pressure to be able to offer something of value to him.