AAI appoint Cuddihy new High Performance medical doctor

BILL CUDDIHY has been appointed AAI High Performance medical doctor.

Dr Cuddihy, for many years associated with Kilkenny’s All-Ireland winning hurling teams, replaces Dr Brendan O’Brien, who has retired following 20 years service to the Association.

Dr Cuddihy, father of 400m specialist Joanne Cuddihy, has been involved with international teams for a number of years including the Irish selection at the European indoor championships in Birmingham.

Dr O’Brien, whose daughter, Andrina, was medical officer to the Irish team at the world championships in Helsinki, remains as Chair of the Sports Science and Exercise Medicine Committee.

The appointment of Nessa Smyth as High Performance Physio Co-ordinator, was also announced yesterday. She has also worked with Irish teams at major championships and, alongside Dr Cuddihy, will work on the development of a clear and improved system for treating and monitoring athletes in the lead up to this year’s world championships and next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

Liam Hennessy, Chair of the High Performance Committee thanked the Irish Sports Council for their additional support which made the appointments possible.

“The medical and physio co-ordinators will work closely with the Irish Institute of Sport, the Olympic Council of Ireland and the National Coaching and Training Centre to ensure we deliver a world class service to our athletes.” he said.

Athletics Ireland also announced their High Performance Programme; 72 athletes have been named on the programme with 37 in the senior programme and 35 in the youth and junior achievers programme.

The senior programme, which is divided up into Development, International, World Class and European, will cater for athletes such as recent World and European medallists Derval O’Rourke, David Gillick and Fionnuala Britton.

The support system will include financial, sports science & medical, technical coaching, performance management, and competition.

The 35 athletes on the junior and youth achievers programme are the most promising athletes from around the country and it includes 800m star David McCarthy from West Waterford, long jump specialist and Irish Examiner National Junior Sports Star, Kelly Proper along with hurdler Chris Quinn. The elite group will also receive financial support through the Irish Sports Council International Carding Scheme.

The goal of the High Performance Programme is to identify, support and guide emerging talent, to support senior athletes so they can focus exclusively on training and competing at the highest level and to continue to build a world class support structure.

The programme was launched in 2004 when the goal was to assist athletes in their preparation for the Olympic Games in Athens. In the last three years the programme has grown and it now supports 73 athletes from U-17 to senior level through the delivery of a range of services and supports.