'The money might be the difference between changing your shoes every six months instead of every year'

Louise Shanahan is among the athletes set to receive support from the Jerry Kiernan Foundation, which was set up by Kiernan’s friend Murt Coleman to honour the late coach’s memory

Jerry Kiernan Foundation Name 22 Irish Athletes Who Will Benefit From Funding In 2022 Awarded athletes pictured is (L-R) Louise Shanahan, Efrem Gidey, John Travers and Jack O’Leary. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

If there’s one big fallacy in Olympic sports, it’s the belief among some casual observers that the athletes have – in financial terms – made it. The reality is different, the vast majority not earning enough from their sport to call it a living, with most preparing as professionals yet living off a shoestring budget.

Louise Shanahan isn’t in athletics for the money, of course, otherwise the 25-year-old Cork woman would have walked away long ago.