Simms ready to go that extra yard for his athletes

Athletes' agent Ricky Simms from Donegal signed up a 15-year-old Jamaican kid in 2002 and has never had reason to regret the decision, writes Ian O'Riordan

RICKY SIMMS has been spending a lot of time on the phone lately, discovering that money not only only talks but also swears. If he believed even half the promises being made he could earn himself a small fortune.

In 2002, Simms was just breaking into the agency business when he got a call from a colleague at the World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica. Some gangly 15-year-old had just won the 200 metres, waving to the crowd as he sprinted down the straight, and it was put to Simms that perhaps they should sign the kid up.

A few months later, at the IAAF gala in Monte Carlo, Simms was introduced to this youngster, who was already 6ft 5in and looked completely out of sorts in his black tuxedo. They chatted a while and got on well, and two years later, when he first turned professional, Usain Bolt immediately signed up with Simms - thus beginning an agent-athlete relationship that has gone from strength to strength.

While Bolt has risen to the top of his game with the sort of lightening pace that he's naturally gifted with, Simms has also come a long way in a short space of time; how a 34-year-old from Donegal managed to get the undisputed fastest man on earth on his books is a fair success story in itself.

Eight years ago, Simms was working at the NCTC in Limerick, coaching a handful of Irish athletes in his spare time. In trying to get them into races he encountered various agents, and figured he could do just as well. His rich enthusiasm for athletics was unmistakable, and through Ger Hartmann, the Limerick sports injury specialist, he got himself an internship with Kim McDonald's agency in London, which represented most of the elite Kenyan runners, plus, for years, Sonia O'Sullivan.

He had a lot to digest, but he learnt fast, and when McDonald died suddenly in 2001 Simms was among the obvious successors. After a transitional period he became one of three directors of the agency, which they renamed Pace Sports Management.

With his boyish looks and gentle charm, Simms draws inevitable comparisons with the fictional Jerry Maguire, and the one thing he definitely shares with the Hollywood version is a genuine concern for his athletes. That's why when the likes of the MTV Music awards come calling looking for a piece of Bolt, he knows where to draw the line. Nothing will bring down a star athlete quicker than the race for a quick buck.

"Usain has been with us since the start, and personally, I have a very close relationship with him," says Simms. "I don't think he has the need or the want to go anywhere else at the moment. There are a lot of commercial opportunities coming along and some partners maybe will come in to work on that, but we'll be the core management.

"He can earn millions of dollars over the next five, six years. He can be the biggest star ever in track and field. He's been offered a lot of opportunities to reach into the mainstream media as well. But we've been saying for two or three years he was going to be a superstar, and this year everything just clicked, especially in Beijing, where maybe he was in the form of his life. Although hopefully he can only get better."

Of course, Bolt is not the only athlete on his books, and Simms still works mostly with Kenyan distance runners. This genuine concern for their general wellbeing, not just their financial wellbeing, is what got Simms to where he is now. If one of his athletes gets injured, which they invariably do, Simms takes pride in ensuring they get the best treatment.

But this has become a problem. The strong link his London agency has maintained with Hartmann's injury clinic in Limerick is under threat from the increasing difficulty in securing a temporary visa for his athletes, particularly those from Kenya.

"Going back to Kim McDonald's days, the company has had a very close link with Ger Hartmann's clinic, but over the last number of years we haven't been able to access him near as much as we'd like too. The main reason for that is to get an Irish visa, for say a Kenyan athlete, usually takes about 12 weeks," says Simms. "In some cases we've applied and it wasn't ready in 12 weeks. To get them into Britain takes two days. The same with almost all other European countries.

"If an athlete gets injured, they want to see someone the next day. Not in 12 weeks. It's become a massive problem. If Usain Bolt wanted to see Ger Hartmann tomorrow, it would take several weeks. Ger has worked with the top athletes in the world, and is the first person I call when one of my athletes has an injury. But we can't wait 12 weeks to get an athlete over there.

"We have the best athletes in the world, and want them treated by the best physio in the world. It's a shame that we have to look elsewhere, which we're reluctantly doing. I still don't know the ins and outs of the visa system, even though I've dealt with it so many times. It's quite frustrating."

Part of the problem is that, unlike most other EU states, Ireland opted out of the Schengen agreement - the range of provisions on common policy for the temporary entry of persons. And it's not just about getting athletes in for treatment, but also competition or training.

Two quick stories: last year, the Kenyan runner Martin Mathathi needed to see Hartmann, as a matter of urgency. They couldn't wait for a visa, so he was collected at Belfast airport, where there was no need for a visa, and driven to Limerick. Suitably treated, Mathathi went on to win the 10,000 metres bronze medal at World Championships in Osaka.

Four years ago, another Kenyan, Naomi Mugo, needed treatment, so Hartmann himself drove his old Mercedes to Belfast to collect her. Fearing a possible police intervention, they agreed Mugo would hide in the boot of his car as they drove the 30 minutes through the Border counties.

Though strictly illegal, this is the reality facing elite, world-class athletes if they want to get into Ireland for urgent treatment of an injury, and no wonder Simms is concerned about it.

"Even if I want to bring an athlete over to the Cork City Sports there is always some problem. They really tightened up four or five years ago. For something like that they sometimes get some help to move it along, but it's always a stress, phoning Dublin, talking to someone who knows someone. Whereas I can get athletes into America in three days, when you have an appointment.

"And you can get a Chinese or Japanese visa much easier than you can get an Irish visa," says Simms.

The University of Limerick intends to petition the Department of Sport to see if a list of athletes can be drawn up to help secure easy passage into Hartmann's clinic, at least in the run-up to the London Olympics.

It shows that Simms cares enough about his athletes to go that extra yard.

In the meantime, it is hoped that if ever Bolt needs to come here for treatment, it won't be in the boot of Hartmann's car.