Hackett appointed Irish athletics chief

Respected coach and sports psychologist Brendan Hackett has been appointed the new chief executive officer of the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI).

Hackett, a member of the Dublin-based Donore Harriers club, is Irish athletics' first CEO since 1990, when Eamonn Coghlan assumed the role for a short period.

Hackett, who has coached middle distance stars James Nolan, Maria Lynch and Noel Cullen previously, was ratified by a 16-member executive committee last night.

The terms and conditions of Hackett's appointment have yet to be finalised but he will take up his new position from January 1.

A former manager of the Longford and Offaly senior Gaelic football teams in the late 1980s, Hackett offered psychological support to Ireland's boxers and sailors at last year's Olympic Games.