New gear given full approval

So here's what all the fuss was about. Yesterday, we got the first glimpse of what the Irish team will be wearing at the Sydney Olympics in September.

The Olympic Council of Ireland's conflict with the Athletics Association of Ireland now resolved, the "gear issue", which threatened to divide a sporting nation, is now a confused memory, and with Adidas now back with the Irish team for the first time since 1984, it's no longer just a cotton vest with a shamrock on the front.

These days it requires a team supply of over 5,000 individual items of clothing, each one of them revolutionary and unique for the event with "energy maintenance" apparel.

That means specially cut garments such as a one-armed throwing suit to eliminate constricted movement, or the swimming bodysuit that is anatomically shaped to follow the natural contours of the body.

"I have worked closely with Adidas in the selection and design of the kit for our athletes and I am delighted with the results," said OCI President Pat Hickey at the unveiling in Dublin's Radisson Hotel. "With the smallest of fractions making the difference between success and failure, the athletes kit has become even more important."

Among the Irish Olympians modelling the uniforms yesterday was Sonya McGinn, who last month earned the right to become the country's first Badminton representative. "It looks and feels really good," she said.

While the team uniforms may be designed and styled to enhance the athletes performance, there's nothing excessive about the use of colour - green being the obvious emphasis. The Olympic rings and shamrock are balanced out by the Adidas logo.

Catherina McKiernan will probably spend more time than most in her uniform covering the 26 miles of the marathon. "It seems to be grand," she assured us. Either way, she'll have a range of choices in her gearbag.

Hickey took the time to comment on the gear issue. "We never wanted to have a dispute and there never would have been a dispute if it were not for the Athletics Association of Ireland. "I still believe that the AAI have been disingenuous in saying that they should and would supply the gear to Irish athletes."

So it's a question now of letting the Games begin. In fact, there are only 78 days to go. "I'm looking forward now to seeing some of these uniforms on the victory platform in September," added Hickey.

At least that was something we could all agree on.