Tokyo was a disappointing Olympic Games that did not deliver on the high expectations post-Rio is a conclusion of an independent external review published yesterday by the Irish Sailing Association (ISA).
"Fewer boats qualified than the expected targets, and the performance of the boats which did qualify was disappointing", the report states.
The review, commissioned by the ISA, was prepared by sports coaching guru Gary Keegan of consultants Uppercut and was initially scheduled to be published by November 2021 but was released yesterday (February 8th) on the association website.
The review follows criticism from a number of key observers including Olympians and former coaches as well as plain-speaking former ISA President Roger Bannon, who called for some 'dispassionate reflection on Ireland's sailing performance' post-Tokyo.
In the five years from Rio, Irish Sailing received €3.87m in High-Performance state funding as follows: 2017: €735k, 2018: €735k, 2019: €800k, 2020: €800k and 2021: €800k. The association also benefited from a state funding allocation of €1.553m under the National Sports policy as follows: 2018: €323k, 2019: €385k, 2020: €410k and 2021: €435k
"Sailing is one of the top three funded sports in Ireland, and the expectation was to have four boats qualifying, two in medal contention and one Olympic medal, but that wasn't achieved", the Keegan report says.
49er highlight
However, "the performance of the 49er crew was a highlight given that they were first time Olympians and suffered a disqualification for two races", Keegan notes.
Introducing the report, Irish Sailing President David O'Brien said, "I am very pleased to share the independent external review of the Tokyo Olympics with you, Irish Sailing members and the wider sailing community".
It appears, however, the association stopped short of publishing the full review and instead released a 17-page 'summary of headline findings'. (downloadable below)
The emerging themes arising out of Gary Keegan's analysis of the Irish Sailing Tokyo Review data
The summary document notes: "A comprehensive report was issued to the Review Steering Panel which outlined the detailed findings, supporting evidence and recommendations based on the data and information shared during the review and also shares some perspectives and comparatives based on our experience of HP environments".
Sport Ireland
The report states that Sport Ireland's confidence in the IS High-Performance Programme (HPP) has been demonstrated in the level of investment the HPP has managed to secure through the Rio and Tokyo cycles, but "there would seem to be a slight shift in confidence from Sport Ireland's perspective following the performances in Tokyo and, what Sport Ireland believes, to be a reduced level of proactive communication and engagement from the HPP into Sport Ireland on high-performance matters".
Irish Sailing community
"The Irish sailing community (the Club base) would benefit from having an increased awareness and understanding of the HPP", the review concludes. The HPP athletes have all developed through the club system onto the HPP. The report says that "their journey and their endeavours to be world-class should be shared more with club members to enhance the sense of pride and connection the club community has with their HPP".
Fukuroi base
"There was positive feedback about Fukuroi in Tokyo, but at their Olympic accommodation base, athletes reported challenges with "a sense of isolation due to the location, travel times to sailing venue from the hotel, lack of facilities, time on their own (leading to over-thinking) restricted movements, sharing rooms, poor quality of food etc.", the Uppercut report says.
Some of these problems were caused by losing the intended main accommodation base, which was a critical factor concerning the quality of the team's final taper and preparations. "Overall, there was a lack of support on-site compared to competitors, e.g. access to psychology and physio support, boat repairs etc. and management reported the challenge in securing that support for the duration of the Games", the report says.
Harness measurement infraction
The report deals with the measurement infraction experienced by the 49er crew that led to disqualification from two races and concludes it was "avoidable". Both the coaches and athletes highlighted that the cause was due to a harness that had deteriorated, i.e. a wearing down of the harness's hydrophobic layer, leading it to absorb more water and, therefore, increasing its weight.
"The harness was checked too far out from the regatta. There was no protocol in place to identify red flags in the system and appropriate action to be taken and also no checks and balances protocol", it says.
Selection Policy & Process
In relation to Selection Policy & Process for future Olympic Games, the report says consideration could be given to building in a "force majeure" provision to the Selection Policy to deal with unforeseen and unanticipated situations.
The report also says more communication with athletes who do not qualify needs to be enhanced with the time taken to do this with sensitivity and respect and to explain the context and rationale. As regular Afloat readers will know, a cut-short Radial trial led to significant concerns over and hoc change in process in 2020.
James O'Callaghan, Irish Sailing Performance Director, said in response to the report. "The challenges are clear, but there is great optimism from all stakeholders about the potential of the programme given the athlete profile and experience of the coaching and leadership team".
Download the summary of findings below
All of Afloat's Tokyo coverage is in this dedicated link here. Rio 2016 coverage is here and Paris 2024 is here.
