Joanne O'Riordan: As we celebrate Kellie we must also be mindful of grassroots success

It’s not many things that bother me in life, but like everyone there are bizarre things in the world that make me snap. One of them is people biting their fingernails (I blame my mother and probably the fact I have no limbs). The second one is terrible table manners, you know, the plate scrapers and the loud chewers. I can’t blame my lack of limbs for that. But one thing that irks me more than those is political opportunists.

Kellie Harrington remarkably won her gold medal, making us all cry at 6am in the morning despite my housemates and I not being morning people. While we were watching the incredible reaction from Portland Row, one of my housemates dared to pipe up.

“I think that’s three councillors behind her family,” he mumbled, still half sobbing and sleeping.

We’re all guilty of hopping on a bandwagon, and of course politicians can too. We’re all entitled to get swept up in joy and start fist-pumping a la Peter Collins. But there’s something dangerous when politicians do it.

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Some politicians would pop up behind various champions and dangle funding in front of them like a god holding a carrot before a donkey who’d travelled across the Sahara.

It was funny until you realise that those people popping up behind different champions are also responsible for slashing budgets in healthcare, sport, education and everything a child needs to become a sportsperson, let alone an elite one.

Take 1,500m runner Andrew Coscoran. He needed private backing, a shift at McDonald’s and plenty of fundraising to see him get anywhere, let alone to an Olympic semi-final against some of the best. If others like Andrew Coscoran had immediate access to facilities and direct access to amenities it would probably make his life that bit easier.

Young girls are probably inspired to take up boxing, and kudos to them. But the harsh reality of it is a lot of them may not be able to find a facility that suits them. The boxing club Kellie Harrington trained with didn’t even have a girls toilet. In truth, many girls not only need the skill and desire to train, but they must also overcome numerous hurdles to be on a par with the boys.

More cuts

But this isn’t just a gender issue. This is also down to the fact our children aren’t getting enough exercise. Some will blame parents who have no interest. Others will blame schools that can’t fit a routine PE into their schedule due to more cuts and higher demand.

The result?

A future where our already overrun health system is brought to its knees from diseases and illnesses that could be prevented with the addition of minimum physical activity every day. In fact, according to Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal, 71.8 per cent of Irish 11- to 17-year-olds get insufficient physical activity every day. The yardstick used in this study is one hour.

And yet when these studies are released, and Olympians or Paralympians win anything, the yardstick implemented by the government is medals, competition and everything that’s scientifically proven to turn off the average mover.

Add to that, with facilities being shut down left, right, and centre, with coaches not being properly employed and an insistence on how great our volunteers are, we find ourselves in an awkward space of more to do but a lot of people willing to do it with you.

There are roughly 450,000 volunteers in sport across Ireland, but while celebrating this we should also acknowledge that over 450,000 volunteers are sticking their fingers in many dams.

Celebrated

So while our Olympic and Paralympic heroes are being rightfully celebrated, think of the politicians behind them who will shut down a bike lane in Dublin. Think of the councillors who want their white water rafting centre but refuse to put it in a place that’s accessible for everyone. Think of every Minister for Health and Education who refuse to see the correlation between sport, health, success and long and fulfilling life.

We are now united in supporting our heroes, which is fantastic to see while the nation is divided by agitation, frustration and overall disgust.

The price of each anticipated medal was €10 million. While we all acknowledge how incredible that short-term success was, to the future boys and girls who aspire to be their heroes that means absolutely nothing if money isn’t pumped into proper coaching and facilities.

Couch to 5k is excellent, don’t get me wrong, but some of these children struggle from couch to door.

We all deserve to bask for a few weeks, but politicians and those in governing sporting bodies must ask themselves what’s next? It isn’t a question of one sport or the other. You empower all our athletes and set realistic expectations for success. It isn’t always Olympic medals. Sometimes grassroots success can trump all of that.