Athletes gear up for another split

Are we in for another low-level dispute between the Olympic Council of Ireland and a group of athletes who competed in Sydney…

Are we in for another low-level dispute between the Olympic Council of Ireland and a group of athletes who competed in Sydney and who are now planning to set up their own representative body?

The OCI recently announced that they are setting up an athletes' commission later this month. A few days later it was made public that the athletes themselves were also in the process of doing the same thing.

So, from having no athletes represented prior to the Sydney Olympics, Ireland may soon have two separate bodies. Just who is going to fund each body may well determine which will become the more dominant force. While the Sports Council are not overtly backing the athletes' body, they have co-operated in helping with contact numbers and addresses. Could it end in tears?

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times