Not running scared

Emily Maher has always been a woman unafraid to speak her mind, most recently in defence of her occasional coach and friend Linford Christie. In the Irish Runner Annual 2000, the Kilkenny sprinter lashes out at the Government, the Athletics Association of Ireland and the Irish Sports Council in no uncertain terms.

"Maybe I shouldn't complain. What if I got nothing at all?" she says of her £1,200 grant. "We all heard about Ciaran McDonagh who finished ninth in Seville (World Championships) at a time when he had received a big fat zero from the system . . . where else are elite athletes on the Olympic 2000 panel so completely overlooked by their grants system.

"Athletics Ireland blame the Government. The Government blames Athletics Ireland. One of our NGB officials told me they can't allocate the grants - that's the Government's job. A Government official informs me that Athletics Ireland have to request the money and pass it. You could call it a chicken and egg situation. It sounds to me like a Mickey Mouse situation."

There have been some adverts in the national papers recently about applications for athletes' grants for next year. The hope is that those who qualify will get them before the Olympics in September.