Bonuses reflect slim Olympic medal hopes

The slim chance of any Irish medals being won at next year's Beijing Olympics was underlined at yesterday's announcement of the 2007 sports performance bonuses, introduced last year under the Irish Sports Council's grants scheme.

Only three athletes qualified this year on the basis of championship medal-winning performances: David Gillick, who won gold over 400 metres at the European Indoor championships; Katie Taylor, who also won gold at the European boxing championships; and Philip Murphy, who won silver at the World Shooting championships.

Considering women's boxing is not an Olympic sport, and Gillick would be the first to admit indoor running is a long way from the Olympics, it effectively leaves shooting as our main medal hope for Beijing.

The performance bonuses work in two ways: a medal at a championship (world or European) event automatically qualifies athletes for the payment, with Gillick, Taylor and Murphy achieving this standard. A further nine athletes exceeded stated performance targets and therefore were also recognised under the scheme this year.

It allows for athletes in the developmental, international, world class and contracted categories to receive a bonus of 25 per cent of their annual grant when they achieve an agreed target - but it's hardly big money, with Gillick admitting his €3,000 bonus was already spent.

Still, his run in Birmingham in March was only last weekend voted the athletics performance of the year, and left Gillick in good spirits going into Olympic year. His only dilemma is whether to focus on Beijing, or include a stop-off at the World Indoor championships, set for Valencia in March.

"I sat down with my coach Nick Dakin at the end of the summer, and readdressed what we need to do," said Gillick. "My speed has to improve, especially over 200 metres. Because it's Olympic year, you do feel some more pressure. But at the same time you don't want to get carried away. It's still just a world competition. It's just that the stigma of the Olympics is attached to it. You just don't want to go out there and freeze. The main priority has to be the Olympics . . . But the World Indoors are appealing, and looking at the way I ran this year, I think I could go there and challenge for a medal."

For Taylor, the €10,000 bonus came on the back of her third successive gold at the women's European boxing championships, achieved in Denmark last month.

Boxing was also represented by Darren Sutherland and Roy Sheahan, who won gold at the EU championships this year, even though that event didn't fall into the Sports Council's championship category.

Eoin Rheinisch was named on the list for his performance at the European canoeing championships, where he finished sixth, and also three of Ireland's leading badminton players; Chloe Magee, Scott Evans and Huang Bing.

Derek Burnett joined Murphy in the shooting category after his second place in a World Cup event, with bonuses also going to brothers Russell and Matt McGovern, who were 12th in the European Sailing Championships.