Have we been busy?

Well, in a word yes!  James has been having a word with the great and the good of the athletics world.  Who has he been talking to?  Well The Bullet with the Mullet, Derval O’Rourke and  Yvonne Hak for a start.  You can also read his personal account of the World Championships here
And keep an eye out – there are three more athlete Q&As on the way…

More Athlete Q&A’s!

Once again you can trust James to get the inside track on what the elites are up to!  He managed to have a chat with Brett Gocher (a McMillan trained 2:10 marathon runner).  He also spent some time chinwagging with Paul Hession – one of Ireland’s Olympic hopefuls and a world class sprinter.

Athlete Q&A’s

James has been working hard for you this week!  A couple of Q&A articles with a pair of leading Irish athletes.

David Gillick is a 400m runner from Dublin, Ireland and is a two time European Indoor Champion over the distance. In 2009 he ran sub 45 seconds for the first time setting an Irish record of 44.77. At the 2009 World Championships in Berlin he qualified for his first global outdoor track final finishing in 6^th place. Gillick currently trains in Orlando and is coached by Lance Brauman.  His Q&A is here

Gillian O’Sullivan is a retired elite race walker from County Kerry, Ireland. She finished 10^th in the 20K Walk at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and 4^th at the 2002 European Championships in Munich. Her crowning achievement was claiming the silver medal at the 2003 World Championships in Paris becoming the first Irish medallist since Sonia O’Sullivan’s 5000m gold 8 years earlier. She holds the Irish record (1:27:22) for the 20K Walk and in 2002 she broke the world record for the 5000m walk with a time of 20:02, a record which still stands.  Read her grilling here

A stronger grassroots culture needed in Track and Field

James Sullivan is currently spending some time overseas and is using the opportunity to check out local sports facilities in various places.  Here he talks to us about athletics in Australia and the lessons that can be applied closer to home. Read it all here

Going East a risky move

Large sporting events going to exotic places are big news at the moment – look at the excitement (!)  that the World Cup going to Qatar has caused.  Athletics is already breaking that ground with it’s upcoming jaunt to Korea.  James Sullivan runs a critical eye over things…  The full story is here

2010 A-Z Review

And his master-work is complete!  James Sullivan has burned the midnight oil and written a comprehensive review of the elite scene in 2010.  Part 1 is here, Part 2 here and the final instalment is here An excellent read, I’m especially impressed at his filling out of the X, Y, Z’s…!

IAAF Athlete of the year award

Read James Sullivan’s snapshot reaction to the IAAF awards here

IOC visits London ahead of 2012

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for the London 2012 Games concluded its seventh visit to the British capital today, following three days of meetings with representatives of London 2012 and its partners.  Read the full and unedited press release here

2010 AAI Awards, the editorial view

Our Athletics correspondent James Sullivan uses the AAI awards as an opportunity to look back at some of our athletes achievements over the last year.  Read more here

Derval O’Rourke claims top prize at 2010 Athletics Ireland awards

A night of glamour and high fashion where the only spikes were the ladies high heels!  Read James Sullivan’s overview of the main awards here

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