Cathal Dennehy: Games a golden opportunity for more than the athletes

'Development goes hand in hand with technology.'

A general view of the pontoon used by Triathlon athletes moored on the River Seine, Paris, on the second day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France.

IT’S always many years in the making: Thousands of mind-numbing hours, put in far from public view. It takes a village. But then there’s that one day, that golden moment, when it will all pay off.

No, this isn’t a column about Olympic athletes. It’s about those working behind the scenes to make them go faster. And we’re not talking coaches, physios or — dare we mention it — doctors. This is about performance technology, the legal kind, which plays an ever-increasing role in determining who walks away with the medals, and just how fast they go.