Latest news with #RTÉSport
RTÉ News
8 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Cathal Doyle is desperate to race after 'crazy' Faith Kipyegon pacing duties
The old and somewhat tiring joke goes, that you can find the Irish at everything, and Faith Kipyegon's 'Breaking4' project was no exception. Kipyegon didn't manage to become the first woman to break the four-minute barrier for the mile, but she did achieve the fastest time ever run with a 4:06.42 clocking and in the process has inspired one of her Irish pacers from the bid. Cathal Doyle, Olympian, multiple national record holder and probably the gutsiest man in Irish athletics, was one of a long list of pacers to assist Kipyegon in the 1609m exhibition run at the Stade Charlety in the French capital on Thursday evening. Doyle says running three laps with Kipyegon is up there with one of the best experiences he has had in his 27 years. "It was probably just one of the coolest things you'll probably ever do, it was just a bit crazy because I've never paced a race before, especially at that kind of level," Doyle told RTÉ Sport. Doyle walked down the tunnel onto the track in the French capital that just ten months ago saw him progress to the Olympic semi-final, to be the tip of the 'shield' formation for Kipyegon after some gruelling training with the Nike team leading the project. "Training was actually pretty intense… We had two sessions every day in the morning and evening. We were shown on a laptop the formation. And I was like, 'Oh, I've kind of drawn the short straw here'." The five-time national champion explains that he ran in the middle of lane two, where there were markers for him to follow, meaning he ran marginally further than the rest, which can make pacing trickier. The Nike team, meticulous in their planning, attempted to cover every possible scenario that the athletes learned through dozens of repetitions. "There was just scenario after scenario, there must've been about six different scenarios. The front five of us around Faith were the shield. And then the guys around near her were the 'spoiler'. "Luckily for my job, I actually didn't have to think. All I had to do was just run hard and stay in line where I was…it was just a lot of practice." "Luckily for my job, I actually didn't have to think. All I had to do was just run hard and stay in line where I was… It was just a lot of practice." Doyle reveals the call to be involved came only last week, thanks to some intervention from training partner and fellow Nike-sponsored athlete Elliot Giles. "He (Giles) asked if he could bring a training partner, and then they realised this guy can pace when they looked up my personal bests. "I only knew I was doing it less than a week ago, there wasn't even a second thought." For any athlete racing on the circuit, it can become monotonous quickly. Doyle is no exception, running almost 25 races last season and 12 already this year, so the 'Breaking4' project offered a change from the continuance of the track season. "You never get a chance to do stuff like this, running meets is cool and it's fun and all, but at the same time, they're all the same. So, this was a little bit different." "You never get a chance to do stuff like this, running meets is cool and it's fun and all, but at the same time, they're all the same. So, this was a little bit different." There were doubts from both fans and media of the sport as to whether the goal was achievable, but Doyle details that there was no question of its feasibility among the 13 pacers, and it was vital those around Kipyegon believed. "Everyone was just so focused on their role. There wasn't even a question of, will she do it or not? "In there, you're starting to believe that maybe she could do it, but apparently a 3:59 mile for a woman equates to a 1:58 men's marathon. "So, it was even more difficult than the 'Breaking2 ' project with (Eliud) Kipchoge. But everyone was fully invested." The event, organised by the shoe brand that has become synonymous with technology, development and science-backed projects like the one Doyle took part in, also specified that the pacers didn't tell Kipyegon the exact time per lap, allowing her to focus only on the task. "She didn't actually know the paces either. We were strictly told 'don't tell her'. "No talk of splits on the warm-up - zero talk, do not mention splits. She hadn't a clue so all she had to do was hold on for dear life." The stadium had a sizeable crowd, not full, but not bad for realistically four minutes of entertainment. The Irish Olympian explained he wasn't sure how a visibly nervous Kipyegon kept it together, knowing that it would be a rare scenario in which all eyes are exclusively on her. "I don't even know how she could pull it together. You walked out and a couple of thousand people there and they're all cheering for just her on the line." "I don't even know how she could pull it together. You walked out and a couple of thousand people there and they're all cheering for just her on the line." Doyle is now excited to get back racing after six days in the French capital working towards something "crazy" which has changed his perspective on his own goals. Which is exactly why Kipyegon attempted the near-impossible feat in the first place. "I'm actually pretty buzzing now to race again and train, even though I was just among the 10 others, it's just being around really good people and really successful people. It does rub off on you and then you kind of feel like, 'oh, I want to be that as well now'."
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Single scull a silver lining for crewless Fiona Murtagh
Back in November, Fiona Murtagh put behind her a challenging few months to return to the National Rowing Centre in Cork. More than three months had passed since the bitter disappointment of the Paris Olympics, and the Galway native was struggling to plot out her future. Murtagh and Aifric Keogh – part of the women's four in Tokyo alongside Eimear Lambe and Emily Hegarty that swept to an unlikely bronze – travelled to France as serious medal contenders in the women's pair. Podium finishers in every race that season, they could only manage a sixth-place semi-final finish. Having experienced such highs in Tokyo (Murtagh and Keogh became, and remain, the only Galway athletes to claim an Olympic medal), a combination of underperformance and the lack of a post-Games plan hit the 29-year-old hard. Keogh retired and of the coaches that were involved in the Paris Games, only Dominic Casey remains, with Rowing Ireland yet to fill the vacancy left by high-performance director Antonio Maurogiovanni's departure. "After Paris I took a break, I really wasn't sure what to do, I had nothing planned," Murtagh told RTÉ Sport. "In hindsight, it was not a good idea. I really fell off a cliff. People were retiring, coaches were leaving. There was a lot of uncertainty in the air. I was a sweep rower (two hands on one oar, as opposed to sculling where each rower uses two oars). I was trying to think, 'where do I fit in?' 'Where do I belong in this organisation now?'" Once the dust had finally settled on Paris, Murtagh began to plan ahead. Inevitably, she kept circling back to her sport. "I knew myself I had so much more to give, I just didn't know how that was going to be done." Enter Dominic Casey, Ireland's most successful rowing coach. It was his suggestion to try out the single-scull. Eased back into the boat, it was now a fresh challenge of working solo. That first day back in November, it was a case of old habits dying hard. After the warm-up, she waited in the areas reserved for the fours and quads, the pairs and doubles; lining up where the singles took off from didn't enter her mind. "After a few months off, you are on edge," she says. "Without thinking I just stood beside the pair, waiting for Aifric and Giuseppe (De Vita, high performance coach). It was that moment, 'they're not here'." Those early months were a steep learning curve. The pace was "crawling" and old techniques had to be discarded; how she approached the catch (the oar entering the water) and moving through the leg drive may not seem massively different to the untrained eye. For Murtagh it was night and day. In the past, Keogh had taken charge of steering in the pair, while as part of the four, Lambe looked after the calls. Now the responsibility landed squarely on her shoulders. "Even though you know how to do them, it's about owning it," she says. There were no goals set in those early days, just reassurance and guidance from Casey. The lack of pressure was a rare treat, the sole focus simply getting to grips with the solo adventure. At the turn of the year, the winter labour was beginning to bear fruit. At her first trial she was second to Mags Cremen. For the final European trials, she was first past the finish line. She went to the European Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, earlier this month, full of nerves and possibilities. "I won my heat and it was instilling confidence in me throughout the regatta. I was more confident in my start, I always backed my middle. When I won the semi, I knew I was in with a chance." Seven months after beginning her sculling journey in Cork, Murtagh was back on the podium. "Throughout the last season, I never thought about winning at the European championships until I got there," she says. "If you told me after Paris if I'd be sitting here, with a European silver in the single, I'd be like 'you're lying to me'." She's not wedded to the idea of sculling in Los Angeles. It could pan out that way, but "you never know what Dominic has in mind". The mental and physical demands will stand to her regardless, Murtagh feeling the fittest she has ever been. This weekend she is in Switzerland, part of a strong Irish squad competing at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, the next chapter in her journey. "I'm still learning," she says. "People laugh at me when I say I'm a novice. In the single. It's a good thing. I'm motivated to learn that skill. "It's different. It's not me doing it for someone else, it's me doing it for me. There is a lot of self-growth and self-realisation to want to do that."
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Carla Ward keeps spirits high but O'Sullivan boost 'unlikely'
Republic of Ireland boss Carla Ward said it's "very unlikely" Denise O'Sullivan and Megan Campbell will be available to face the USA in Cincinnati on Sunday after watching her team fall to a 4-0 loss against the world's No 1-ranked side. Avery Patterson, Sam Coffey, Rose Lavelle and Alyssa Thompson all found the net in a very comfortable American victory, as the Girls in Green wilted in tough conditions at high altitude. The USA have rested some big names for this friendly double-header but are still able to call upon a cluster of elite talent. Ireland were without O'Sullivan, Campbell, Aoife Mannion, Katie McCabe, Heather Payne and Leanne Kiernan. They badly missed that experience and quality. Speaking to RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue, Ward said it's "very unlikely" O'Sullivan and Campbell - two late withdrawals who are in camp - will recover for Sunday's rematch, while praising her players' efforts at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. "Let's be honest, we've faced the best team in the world, and we knew that," she said. "We've come and played against a group of players that are all in season, fit. We know where we're at, we're out of season, but it's not just that. They're unbelievable quality, they really are. "I was just saying to the girls, we're going to learn more out of tonight than we will have in all our Nations League games. And that's what this is about. "Being really honest, Erin Healy was only (able for) 15 minutes, Ellen Molloy can't do more than ten, Izzy (Atkinson) was on 15, Ruesha (Littlejohn) was on 45. We were very restricted with what we could put out and the changes we could make. "Look, we've done what we could have done with what we had available." Expanding on the conditions, Ward said: "It's tough, it's really tough. The altitude, you can feel it in your chest, you can feel it everywhere. I take my hat off to the group. We asked them to leave everything out there, they've left everything out there. "There has to be some optimism given the state of what we've come into, and who we're playing against, and all the contributing factors. They've done pretty well considering." USA manager Emma Hayes only picked NWSL-based players with the exception of Chelsea's Naomi Girma, but they were still loaded with class. Ward accepted Sunday will be another very tough challenge. "We talk about a heavy defeat, this is the USA," she added. "Look at their squad tonight, we're talking about world-class players. They'd a one million pound player out there (Girma), 150-cap players they're bringing on to the pitch. "Sunday is going to be difficult. Ruesha's come off with her achilles. We've got some other questions (around players) that we knew coming in to tonight. "It's not going to be easy, but what we have to do is keep taking the positives, have a look at tonight, we have to dig deep in to the performance to see what we can change and tweak, and being honest, see who we have fit and available."
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
'We let our nation down' - Paris pain fuelling Irish equestrian Olympic ambitions
Barely a day goes by without Michael Blake casting his mind back to the Olympic Games in Paris and what might have been. Horse Sport Ireland's high performance show jumping director led a fancied Irish team to the French capital – or to the resplendent Chateau de Versailles to be more precise – with serious ambitions of a podium place. "We were talked up a lot more than we talked ourselves up. We knew we were there or thereabouts," he tells RTÉ Sport. Results all season backed up such talk. An unprecedented season of success produced 11 Nations Cup podium results, including a couple of five-star triumphs in Florida and Aachen. Shane Sweetnam, Daniel Coyle and Cian O'Connor comfortably qualified for the final, a testing 1.65m course over 525m, with expectation surpassing hope in landing a historic first team show jumping medal. Despite a second stunning clear round by Coyle and his 14-year-old mare Legacy, Ireland finished seventh after a tally of 14 penalties. Nearly a year on, Blake is still processing the result. "We knew things that needed to go our way," he says. "They did right until the last horse was going in. We were in line for silver medal, which was going to be fantastic. And it just didn't go our way. "We're bitterly disappointed that we let our nation down. There was great expectation and we had great expectations. If you look at the countries that won the medals, they hadn't had any luck look before or since." "We wanted to do our best and we've bounced back before. We've bounced back now." Blake's confidence stems from victory in two Nations Cups in two different continents within five days, along with a five-star cup in Abu Dhabi Earlier this month Ireland emerged as winners of the five-star Nations Cup of France in La Baule, just the third time an Irish team has succeeded in the prestigious event. Blake mixed youth and experience - Bertram Allen, Seamus Hughes Kennedy, Tom Wachman and Cian O'Connor – a policy that he has implemented since assuming his role in 2012. "If you look at all the wins, there's no common person on any of the three teams," he says. "I started in 2012 and I looked at our bases and it was like a cone going backwards. "I've created a monster. People say, 'oh well, you didn't win the last Europeans'. But we were second and we were second with kids. I chose not to bring the A team, I suppose, for want of a better word, because I wanted to see what the emerging talent could do. "The big win in La Baule, I had two kids on it with two young horses. It's not winning that makes me most proud." Blake's approach may have caught some by surprise, but the strength-in-depth of the Irish squad is there for all to see. The Clare native says it was about making clear to everyone the long-term vision; only selecting the best riders would not serve the team well down the line. "I inherited the situation where there was a hierarchy. And the first thing to do was to tear it down. There was no resentment from the senior riders but I just saw things differently, that if we didn't keep adding to the talent pool that soon we were going to run out. "And I see other countries have made that mistake, that have stuck with the same gene pool, all the time, and now there are countries like Sweden, Switzerland, are running into difficulty now, and they were powerhouses." "Our senior riders, they mentor the younger riders. And it's great to see because we sit down at the beginning of the year, we try and make a plan for the whole year. "As I tell everybody, you might be a brain surgeon some day, but you have to go to university and go through the steps. That's what I have tried to instil on people, that there is a progression, and that when you miss a step on that ladder, you usually come falling down." It's a welcome headache for Blake to plot out team selections, but Dublin, Aachen, Rome and Barcelona are staging posts to the big prize. Five-star wins in Canada and France have backed up the work behind the scenes, but Los Angeles in three years' time is focusing the mind. "We hadn't won in Spruce Meadows (Canada) for 24 years, we targeted that. Now I need to target the elusive Olympics. I've been lucky enough, we've won the European championships, we've been second in the European championships. "There's only the [Olympic] circles. That's what I'm after."
The 42
3 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Injury rules Denise O'Sullivan and Megan Campbell out of opening USA friendly
DENISE O'SULLIVAN AND Megan Campbell will both have their respective injuries assessed to determine whether they can play any part in the Republic of Ireland's friendly double header with the USA in Colorado. Both players are definitely ruled out of the opening game with the USA in the early hours of Friday morning (2am Irish time) but could return for Sunday's fixture against the team ranked number one in world. Advertisement O'Sullivan picked up a knee injury on club duty last weekend while Campbell is nursing an ankle issue from training. There'll be no Denise O'Sullivan or Megan Campbell for the Republic of Ireland against the USA on Friday morning (2am, live on @RTEplayer ), but boss Carla Ward tells @Corktod she expects others to embrace the challenge against Emma Hayes' world No 1-ranked team #RTEsoccer — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 25, 2025 Ireland boss Carla Ward is already missing captain Katie McCabe for the trip Stateside as the Arsenal star was afforded more time off after winning the Champions League with the English club. Aoife Mannion and Heather Payne have also not travelled as the pair search for new clubs following their release from Manchester United and Everton, respectively. The second friendly with the USA is on Sunday at 8pm Irish time.
