Gillian hangs up her walking shoes

 

Gillian’s best performance came in 2003 when she took 2nd in the 20km Walk at the World Championships in Paris. She also had a 4th place finish at the 2002 European Championships and came 10th at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 in the same event.

She told RTE Sport: ‘To retire from competing was always going to be a huge decision for me but I have put a lot of thought into it and I feel now is the best time to move on.

‘Athletics has been so good to me but it has got to the stage where with some of the problems I’ve had I didn’t feel I could get back to the heights I hit in 2002 and 2003 and to leave now I can be happy with everything I have achieved and not have any regrets.

‘I want to thank Athletics Ireland, the Irish Sports Council and the Olympic Council for all their help and support throughout my career”, she said.

‘For the future I have no immediate plans but I would certainly love to be involved in athletics at some level down the line and maybe I will look at getting involved in coaching’, she added.

Liam Hennessy, Chair of the Athletics Ireland High Performance Committee, was full of praise for her outstanding career. He said: ‘Gillian is a huge loss to us but her place in the history of Irish athletics is assured. From her excellent performance in Sydney to her moment of true greatness in Paris she has been one of Ireland’s best. These are my abiding memories of Gillian along with that of a supremely talented athlete with a burning determination to succeed. On behalf of Athletics Ireland and myself I want to wish her all the best for the future.’

OCI President Pat Hickey also acknowledged the brilliance of her career and her important role in Ireland’s Olympic plans at recent Games. “Gillian was a key athlete for us and a truly superb performer – one who put her heart and body on the line for her country in what is a very gruelling sporting discipline. As a person she is one in a million and I’m glad to hear that she may continue to contribute to Irish sport in a coaching capacity. We will all benefit from her knowledge and vast experience and I look forward to many more contributions to sporting successes from Gillian as she moves forward into new areas of her life.”

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