Joe Sweeney Indo article

myflipflops

Good article by Cliona Foley with quotes from Joe Sweeney today. His speaks his mind on the AAI.


"It felt like they supported me when I was doing well but what I've learnt is that it's when things are going badly, that's when you really need the support."

Very interesting statement. I have heard from a number of athletes that this is the major issue with Patsty McGonagle and his the way he deals with athletes. When in form, he's great to you. If you are sick, injured or struggling for form, you do not exist. Joe is a good friend of mine and I know how talented he is (up there with Mark Christie) and how close he was to leaving the sport. Clearly AAi have no process to reach out to talented athletes on the margins. The sport has a very limited participation base and loses plenty to social loves and injuries. Not a great financial time to be talking about initiatives but they need to make more effort to look after athletes like this.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/if-theres-one-thing-i-learned-its-that-you-dont-depend-on-athletics-ireland-for-anything-2447986.html

HE was a young international who virtually disappeared from his sport for two years, yet few from Irish athletics' officialdom rang to ask why.

There are those who feel that Joe Sweeney (25) could probably have been more vocal himself about his problems and he's quite philosophical about it now.

"If there's one thing I learned from the last two years is that you don't depend on Athletics Ireland for anything, you've got to be self-sufficient," he says.

As if to prove that point, he spent much of this week clearing his college assignments in order to fly out independently to Portugal this weekend, a full week ahead of competing in next weekend's European Cross-Country Championships in Albufeira.

Sweeney had borrowed some money to buy new runners but has decided it will be better spent on training in a more favourable climate, not least after close encounters of a scary kind with a juggernaut on a snowbound motorway early in a week in which the entire nation has come to a standstill.

An Irish schools champion at cross-country and 3,000m, who was eighth in the 5,000m at the European U-23 Championships in 2007, Sweeney had mystifyingly ground to a halt himself 18 months ago.

Last Sunday, on a sub-zero snowfield in Derry, the rangy Dundrum South Dublin star emphatically bounced back, leaving the field trailing as he romped home to his first Irish senior title at the national (inter-county) cross-country.

The last time he'd raced seriously was in the same event two years ago.

From a Blackrock family that has largely produced rugby forwards and Gaelic players, Sweeney initially decided to join the local athletics club "because I was a bit of a podger as a kid!"

Hitching his wagon to Dundrum South Dublin's top athletics nursery meant he wasn't long progressing and scholarship offers came from the US.

But most came from business schools and Sweeney's interests were largely scientific.

He started with a degree in industrial microbiology at UCD and has taken several divergent post-grad tangents since coming to his current masters in computer programming.

Sweeney could certainly have found plenty of academic excuses for his drastic drop in form in 2008 but didn't.

Over-training, the curse of so many distance runners, was the likeliest root of the severe anaemia that knocked him for six.

The worse Sweeney ran, the harder he trained; it was a classic vicious circle.

"I'd probably pride myself on how much I can take but that kind of mentality only made me worse," he admits. "I never stopped training, thought it was just in my head, that I was getting soft.

"Eventually I was so embarrassed at how crap I was that I stopped going to training," he confesses.

"Eddie (McDonagh, his DSD coach) was great, he kept ringing the whole time but I literally couldn't face him. I told him I was burnt out, mentally, which I really thought I was."

The vicious circle quickly descended into a desperate spiral.

He couldn't sleep so was overdosing on coffee until he was sleeping only two hours a night and waking up bathed in sweat.

After avoiding the club for three or four months he eventually sidled into Jerry Kiernan's mixed training group in Belfield.

The straight-talking Olympic marathon runner welcomes all waifs and strays, irrespective of standard, as long as they're passionate and committed, so it seemed like the ideal port in Sweeney's storm.

But after watching him do some work and observing his ghostly pallor, Kiernan quickly told him: "Joe, go home and rest!"

"There were some 40-year-old women marathoners in the group and they were dropping me," Sweeney recalls.

Kieran quickly referred him to Dr Joe Conway (Athletics Ireland's chief medical officer) and blood tests soon confirmed his problem.

"My haemoglobin count was seven and it's 16 now, so my oxygen-carrying capacity was halved," he explains.

But it was his depleted ferritin levels that raised the red flag. Ferritin is the protein that stores and releases iron in the body.

Sweeney's ferritin level was 27 (it's now 120), and though it was immediately boosted by a three-day hospital stay for an intravenous iron infusion, it dropped dramatically again not long afterwards.

While testing continued Sweeney cut out coffee completely and began to turn the corner.

They're still not sure if he's allergic to caffeine but his recovery, to his disgust, has included grimly embracing herbal tea. "I get to have a decaff once a month now, if I'm lucky!"

As the iron coursed back through his system, so too did his strength.

"Jerry called me Lazarus," he laughs. He's now coached by Kiernan, who describes him affectionately as "a middle-class kid with a country boy's mentality."

From the hardy Listowel man that's a real compliment; it indicates Sweeney doesn't look for short-cuts or handouts. He certainly sought none from Athletics Ireland but was shocked, in the throes of his slump, to discover he'd been dropped from the national 'development' squad, which earned him a €5,000 grant in 2008.

"I rang up about the last €1,250 instalment and was told there'd been a meeting three or four weeks earlier and I'd been cut from the scheme," he says.

"I can't imagine any business where they'd drop you, or fire you, and don't actually tell you.

"Don't get me wrong, there's some great people in Athletics Ireland, like Anne Keenan-Buckley, Brother Dooley and Dr Joe Conway but no one else contacted me, or asked what was wrong, and I thought that was a shame.

"It felt like they supported me when I was doing well but what I've learnt is that it's when things are going badly, that's when you really need the support."

Still he's not the type to harbour a grudge and is euphoric after winning his first senior title and reclaiming an Irish vest.

"He's madly enthusiastic, does terrific tempo runs of 10-15 miles at a handy clip, and is clearly in athletics for the long haul," says Kiernan, who believes Sweeney's eventual metier will be the marathon.

"I know loads of lads who gave up this sport so they could go and have fun," Sweeney reflects.

"I could never understand that until I was sick. But now that I'm healthy I could never think that way again. I love running, always have, it's always just been about the running for me."

- Cliona Foley

Tangle2

Joe is also the subject of Ian O'Riordan's article in the Irish Times today.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/1204/1224284777957.html

donothoponpop

Tangle2 wrote: »

Joe is also the subject of Ian O'Riordan's article in the Irish Times today.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/1204/1224284777957.html

Good article. Brendan O'Shea (Kiernan's old coach, and I presume the article means Kiernan rather than the Kernan it mentions), was "coaching" over a hundred runners for the Wicklow Hospice last Dublin Marathon, and he said he refused to train any distance runner- regardless of ability- unless they took an iron supplement daily. Food for thought.

myflipflops

Ian O'Riordan is a very good writer. Always worth reading. It's a pity he got sent to cover the GAA p*ss up in Dubai so missed the chance to cover the inter counties.

kennyb3

Did anyone else notice cliona say that linda byrne will be making her marathon debut in the spring, very friendly journalism given she bombed out in dublin

Stupid_Private

kennyb3 wrote: »

Did anyone else notice cliona say that linda byrne will be making her marathon debut in the spring, very friendly journalism given she bombed out in dublin

I don't know Linda Byrne's marathon circumstances at all but I know of a few runners who have used the first 16 miles or so of Dublin as preparation for their first marathon a year later. That could well be what she did.

downwithfacses

myflipflops wrote: »

Very interesting statement. I have heard from a number of athletes that this is the major issue with Patsty McGonagle and his the way he deals with athletes. When in form, he's great to you. If you are sick, injured or struggling for form, you do not exist. Joe is a good friend of mine and I know how talented he is (up there with Mark Christie) and how close he was to leaving the sport. Clearly AAi have no process to reach out to talented athletes on the margins. The sport has a very limited participation base and loses plenty to social loves and injuries. Not a great financial time to be talking about initiatives but they need to make more effort to look after athletes like this.


have you ever had dealings with mcgonagle yourself in relation to selection for a team and such? joe was running at a level at which mcgonagle wouldve had very little contact with him...patsy is the team manager for track champs and former head of the high performance committee...his role in working directly with development athletes, which is what joe was when he was funded, is minimal at best, especially those who fail to qualify for a major senior track championships. i'm not saying hes perfect but slating him is a bit harsh in the case of joe sweeney.

the real blame would lie with the high performance manager, who at the time was that <snip> gareth devlin, seeing as it was his SPECIFIC responsibility to liase with joe and all other development athletes as well as seniors and juniors..devlin is meant to be in contact with anyone who is funded on a regular basis...this is not patsy's responsibility.. i agree that aai are a load of ****e but you shouldn't jump the gun, patsy is no angel but in the case of joe the majority of the blame HAS to reside with the person directly responsible for managing his performance at a high level..aka the high performance manager..and that was Gareth Devlin...not mcgonagle.

food for thought is all.

woodchopper

His training seems very similiar to Martin Fagan only he runs his recovery runs slower I would guess judging by the article, 2 hour long run, long tempos, maybe some quarters on the track the rest pretty releaxed running.

Getonwithit

Downwith is spot on. Patsy mcgonagle is the track manager and the development squads would be under the remit of the high performance director. I appreciate Joe sweenys grievance and he is right to hold it but we always seem to wash our dirt in public. The paper runs with the negative headline despite the fact that Joe mentions personally a number of Aai people who he regards well. Glad to see eddie macdonagh get dome good press as well

geld

myflipflops wrote: »

Ian O'Riordan is a very good writer. Always worth reading. It's a pity he got sent to cover the GAA p*ss up in Dubai so missed the chance to cover the inter counties.

I can't imagine that he minded too much though!

IrishTrackFan1

downwithfacses wrote: »

myflipflops wrote: »

Very interesting statement. I have heard from a number of athletes that this is the major issue with Patsty McGonagle and his the way he deals with athletes. When in form, he's great to you. If you are sick, injured or struggling for form, you do not exist. Joe is a good friend of mine and I know how talented he is (up there with Mark Christie) and how close he was to leaving the sport. Clearly AAi have no process to reach out to talented athletes on the margins. The sport has a very limited participation base and loses plenty to social loves and injuries. Not a great financial time to be talking about initiatives but they need to make more effort to look after athletes like this.


have you ever had dealings with mcgonagle yourself in relation to selection for a team and such? joe was running at a level at which mcgonagle wouldve had very little contact with him...patsy is the team manager for track champs and former head of the high performance committee...his role in working directly with development athletes, which is what joe was when he was funded, is minimal at best, especially those who fail to qualify for a major senior track championships. i'm not saying hes perfect but slating him is a bit harsh in the case of joe sweeney.

the real blame would lie with the high performance manager, who at the time was that <snip> gareth devlin, seeing as it was his SPECIFIC responsibility to liase with joe and all other development athletes as well as seniors and juniors..devlin is meant to be in contact with anyone who is funded on a regular basis...this is not patsy's responsibility.. i agree that aai are a load of ****e but you shouldn't jump the gun, patsy is no angel but in the case of joe the majority of the blame HAS to reside with the person directly responsible for managing his performance at a high level..aka the high performance manager..and that was Gareth Devlin...not mcgonagle.

food for thought is all.

Food for thought indeed. But then you also need to factor in why would McGonagle as Chair of the HP Committee issue a public statement in support of Devlin when the former CEO dared to question his performance? Have a look at the emails between McGonagle and Devlin from that time which came out in the court case and you will quickly understand that nothing happens in HP, including the development athletes, without McGonagle's signoff. He is the de facto head of athletics in Ireland - neither the President nor the CEO have any control over him. In fact the very first act of the new CEO was to have him appointed as Team Manager up to 2012 - using a process that included Devlin and others close to McGonagle and/or the Sports Council and without a single volunteer on the interview panel.
But nothing lasts forever and progress will be made down the road when he finally ceases his tireless efforts on behalf of himself, sorry I mean Irish Athletics.

Burgman

donothoponpop wrote: »

Good article. I presume the article means Kiernan rather than the Kernan it mentions.

myflipflops wrote: »

Ian O'Riordan is a very good writer. Always worth reading. It's a pity he got sent to cover the GAA p*ss up in Dubai so missed the chance to cover the inter counties.

It's a pity that O'Riordan is so careless with simple items. Is he as careless with facts? After all, Jerry Kiernan is not a complete unknown. At least Iano was consistent - he used "Kernan" at least nine times! Maybe he wrote the article at the p*ss up!

myflipflops

downwithfacses wrote: »

.

Getonwithit wrote: »

.

You have misinterpreted my comments. Easily done when i worded them so poroly!

I wasn't referring to Patsy McG and implying that he is the person who should be speaking to athletes on the margin. You are both completely correct in saying that is not his job.

I was just using him as an example of the attitude of the AAI to athletes in certain situations. I simply used him because he is the person that gets mentioned to me the most. The attitude of ignoring struggling athletes seems to be something that happens from the top down. I have never actually met Patsy myself and I agree that other people are to blame for situations like the one Joe found himself in. In his senior role, he takes the flak though. As chair (former?) of the HP team, he has to be held accountable for problems with people below him. He dictates that attitude of others.

I will refrain from comment about Gareth Devlin simply because I have never heard much about him.

myflipflops

Burgman wrote: »

It's a pity that O'Riordan is so careless with simple items. Is he as careless with facts? After all, Jerry Kiernan is not a complete unknown. At least Iano was consistent - he used "Kernan" at least nine times! Maybe he wrote the article at the p*ss up!

I would guess that's a spelling mistake that can be blamed on a sub editor. O'Riordan is a former athlete and a guy who knows Irish athletics inside out. He's also a friend of Kiernans I believe. I don't think a typo can be held against him too strongly.

donothoponpop

myflipflops wrote: »

I would guess that's a spelling mistake that can be blamed on a sub editor. O'Riordan is a former athlete and a guy who knows Irish athletics inside out. He's also a friend of Kiernans I believe. I don't think a typo can be held against him too strongly.

There's quite a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes in the current IT (more so then evar I supose;)), doubt the typo is on IOR's head. His articles are always a good read.