The challenges and comforts of Claire Lambe’s second life

Generations of professional athletes have struggled with the transition from a life in lycra or gaudy nylon to civvies, but a glance at Claire Lambe’s diary would suggest that the former Olympic rower has negotiated it with ease.

Still only 28, it’s a year last month since she called time on a way of life that had engrossed her for a decade-and-a-half and since she cashed in her qualifications in mechanical engineering for a job in Cork. Plus, she has already put down roots in Shandon, where she has bought a house.