The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) has named their Sport Support Staff for the European Games which take place in Minsk, Belarus from the 21-30 June. Accompanying the 65 athletes will be a team of twenty-nine support staff who work with the athletes on a daily basis.
In athletics, Team Leader Paul McNamara is the Performance Director for Athletics Ireland and he will lead a team of three coaches; Colin Byrne, Michael McDonald and Dermot McGranaghan, as well as physiotherapist Robert Smyth.
Bernard Dunne is the Team Leader and Performance Director for Boxing, and will lead three coaches; Zauri Antia, Dmitrij Dmitruk and John Conlon, and will also be working with Sport Northern Ireland’s Damian Martin (Physiologist) and Lorcan McGee (Physiotherapist).
Cycling Performance Director Brian Nugent is also the Team Leader, and on his team will be road coach Kurt Boegarts, mechanics Graeme Herd and Sandy Gilchrist, Physiotherapist Nerea Alonso as well as Dee Quinn and Martyn Irvine. Sport Northern Ireland’s Laura Ostler (Performance Analyst) will also be working with the cycling team.
Team Leader for Gymnastics is Performance Director Sally Johnson who will lead a team of two coaches; Samantha James and William Banthorpe. Judo will have Ciaran Ward as Team Leader and coach Juergen Klinger.
Martin Cunningham is the Team Leader for Archery athlete Maeve Reidy. The badminton team leader is Dan Magee, who is also the Performance Director with Badminton Ireland. The Canoe Sprint two person team will be led by Performance Coach Jon Simmons. Shooting will be managed by Team Leader Shane Corrigan.
Thanking the specific sports, Chef de Mission Tricia Heberle said,
“In recognising the team behind the team, a huge amount of thanks has to go to the coaches and team leaders who work with the athletes day in and day out. They travel throughout the world and ensure that the athletes get every chance to perform to their best. We are lucky to be working with an experienced and talented staff base that helps make up a vital component of Team Ireland. Work with the Performance Directors began a long time ago and we have been developing very close relationships in advance of the Games, and will continue to build over the coming year.”
SPORT SPECIFIC SUPPORT TEAM
Archery Team Leader Martin Cunningham
Athletics Team Leader Paul McNamara (Athletics Ireland)
Badminton Team Leader Daniel Magee (Badminton Ireland)
Boxing Team Leader Bernard Dunne (IABA)
Boxing Physiologist Damian Patrick Martin (Sport Northern Ireland)
Boxing Doctor (Cuts Man) Anthony James Peterson Clover (Sport Northern Ireland)
Canoeing Team Leader Jon Simmons
Cycling Team Leader Brian Nugent (Cycling Ireland)
Cycling Performance Analyst Laura Ostler (Sport Northern Ireland)
Gymnastics Team Leader Sally Johnson
Judo Team Leader Ciaran Ward (Irish Judo)
Shooting Team Leader Shane Corrigan
The European Games take place in Minsk, Belarus, from the 21 – 30 June, with athletes competing across nine sports, five of which are part of the Tokyo 2020 qualification journey.
