GAMES CHAMPS TO GET €46K
REPORTS McEntee says staying up has changed horizons for Antrim
ATHLETICS chiefs have broken with more than a century of Olympic tradition by rewarding gold medalists with prize money.
All 48 track and field champions in Paris will receive €46,535 after World Athletics said it will become the first federation to financially reward its stars.
But the decision may cause tension with the International Olympic Committee as it represents a seismic shift away from the Games’ amateur origins.
World Athletics president Seb Coe described it as a “pivotal moment” that underscores their “commitment to empowering the athletes.”
And Coe revealed that he has not spoken to IOC chief Thomas Bach about the idea – but hopes it will be welcomed.
“The world has changed and it is really important that where possible we give money to athletes,”
Coe said, adding that he had “no concern” that the Games’ ethos will be compromised.
Understand
“I do understand the nature of the transition we’ve been in and we’re now operating in a completely different landscape, a completely different planet, from when I was competing.”
While no rules are being broken, the IOC said that it redistributes 90 per cent of its income to governing bodies and national committees.
It said: “It is up to each international federation to determine how to best serve their athletes and the global development of their sport.”
For the previous Olympic cycle from 2017-21, the IOC’s revenue was over €7bn.
Karsten Warholm, the 400m hurdles world record holder, was asked if he thinks prize money will cause a rift and replied: “It shouldn’t because the International Olympic Committee is also making a lot of money from this. I don’t see all changes as bad changes.”
“Sport itself isn’t fair,”he said.“You get kicked in the teeth more often than you get slapped on the back.
“We’re not the only ones. I tried my best not to talk about injuries because, ultimately, nobody gives a s**t.You go down against Wicklow, you go down.
Opportunity
“But one man’s injury is somebody else’s opportunity and that is the way we try to look at it.
“Dermot (McAleese) goes off after 25 minutes (against Wicklow) and you bring in young
Conor Hand.
“Like, that guy is an athlete. He played against Offaly and didn’t last very long but again, he’s learning all the time.
“He came on against
Wicklow and he performed. You talk about
Mick Byrne (Antrim goalkeeper).
“When Wicklow put the squeeze on in the last 15 minutes, Conor Hand won three kick-outs when we needed them.
“Then Ruairi McCann (Creggan), who’s been really good, very consistent throughout the League, a seven or eight out of 10, a worker, smart, brave, honest — he gets injured.
Impact
“He goes off and Eoin Hynds comes in and he has a smashing game.
“He caught one or two really good kickouts.You have players like that and to be able to call upon them and for them to have a positive impact.
“You could dwell on the injury list. If my aunt had balls….
“If and when the other fellas come back, everybody is stronger for it.
“You don’t want it (injuries) but at the same time if you can survive it, everybody will be stronger.”
McEntee says that Antrim’s more dangerous players are getting used to extra attention, including Marc Jordan (inset).
“Everybody has every video, so anyone who is looking at the opposition will certainly look at him (Jordan) as a key player and they’ll think, ‘We’ve got to do our best to nullify him, one way or another.’
“He probably is getting a little bit of extra attention this year but that’s a compliment. “I remember Mick Lyons used to talk about when the Hill were calling him a w **** r, he used to say: ‘That’s a real compliment because it means you’re bothering them.’
“Marc puts in a shift and he’s honest and that extra bit of attention but that means he has to develop another side to his game so that’s the constant challenge.”
McEntee says the main feeling after staying up on the last day was “relief.”
“Everyone was aware of the consequences of not winning,”he said.
“The stage of development they’re at, it was really important that we got the result.
“If things hadn’t gone our way against Wicklow, it would have been very difficult to get fellas focused.
“But they have been great in all fairness to them despite the mounting injury list.
“The attitude has always been great. The appetite for work was always great.
“Now, we’ve got this game to play and we’ll see where it brings us.”
McEntee continued: “It (relegation) would have been a huge blow. I’ve no doubt about that.
“You’ve obviously the likes of Dermot and Decky (Lynch) but overall it’s a pretty young team.
Expect
“Nothing goes up in a straight line. You can’t expect everything to go up in a straight line.
“Very few teams have that experience, so there’s going to be dips, but so long as the trend is up.
“For us to go back down to Division Four, it would just undermine a lot of the good work we’ve done.
“The next couple of weeks would have been very hard, never mind next year facing into the prospect of Division Four.
“I can understand why the lads didn’t want to even think about it.
“And then you could see the nervousness crept in as the game went on.
“Realistically, when we were six points up we were comfortable and yet it goes back down to two at one stage and everybody’s thinking two points is a dangerous lead.”