Let's embrace the Olympics spirit

Are you like me, missing the Olympics already? For the last two weeks, I’ve clocked up several medals and many records during my own rigorous couch potato championship.

I ran a personal best for the 100m dash from the work computer to the TV, almost every evening. There was another record-breaking jump from the sofa to stand inches from the screen on several occasions, while jumping up and down and managing to shout and roar at the top of my lungs.

It’s hard to believe we have to wait another four years for this festival of sport, which has lifted the hearts of the nation, providing us with such compelling stories of adversity, struggle, heartwarming triumph, crushing disappointment, and redemption.

But we’ll always have Paris, a games that has been the most successful ever for Ireland.

With the largest team in history, seven medals, four golds, and a host of top 10 finishes in such a wide range of sports, some of which, like omnium cycling, happened without a velodrome in the country, left me truly emotional because we were all so invested in them and felt we really knew many of them.

Others and their sports we have come to know and are now ‘armchair experts’.

Major sporting events have really saved the Irish summer. While we all waited for the sun to make a prolonged appearance, the European Athletics Championships, the Euros soccer, the All-Irelands and the granddaddy of them all – the Olympics – have kept us all sane when all that was on the menu was unseasonably cool rainy days, and later hot, rainy days.

Cheered on by a huge travelling army, this team connected us all behind our flag in a way we haven’t seen since the heady days of Italia ’90.

Thousands lined the streets in Dublin on Monday to meet their heroes. And why wouldn’t they, this batch of Irish competitors are so inspiring and likeable in the way they carry themselves. They are not there to just call themselves Olympians; they are there to compete and be in the shake-up.

It’s hard to believe we have to wait another four years for this festival of sport, which has lifted the hearts of the nation

The knocks they have taken – look at Rhys McClenaghan, coming from the cruellest of falls in Tokyo claim gold; the heroic Kellie Harrington retiring on the highest of highs, the charming confidence of Daniel Wiffen and the tears of disbelief from Mona McSharry.

And not forgetting the Olympian par excellence and one of Ireland’s funniest men, yes you, Paul O’Donovan, along with the other rowers who continue to perform at the highest level.

It was amazing to see the country grind to a halt on successive two evenings to watch Rhasidat Adeleke, and the heroic girls in the 4 x 400m relay compete on a world stage with the biggest nations.

They came agonisingly close to glory, so close that many of us were crying with them during their trackside interview.

Ultimately, though, those girls from all corners of the country will inspire the next generation in rural Ireland to strive to go faster, higher and stronger in the future. They may also even inspire us armchair experts to get off the couch and get out and participate.

Therefore, it’s really important that the Government photocalls are backed up by real support, financial backing that allows facilities and good coaches to be put in place and help the thousands of hard-working volunteers in athletics and other sports to drive forward in rural and urban areas.

It’s hard to disagree too with former race walker Rob Heffernan on RTÉ, when he asks why we can’t have PE in our primary schools, at least twice a week, if we are serious about sport and physical exercise in the future.

Regional hubs would also help those outside of Dublin strive for high performance and the trickle-down effect for those who just want to get fit and stay healthy would be a happy benefit.

For now, though, I’m off to practice my breaking (that’s break dancing to the rest of us) for LA in 2028. Well, if you caught Australian Girl Ray Gun’s unique viral contribution to the sport, anything is possible!