Paris – the greatest ever Olympics for Northern Ireland

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing.” Brazilian footballer, Pele.

Athletes often talk about the journey.

What goes on behind the scenes and what we don’t get to see that leads ultimately to the moment of triumph or failure, that we get to share with them.

The Paris Olympics were full of such stories.

Hannah Scott was inspired as a 12 year-old by attending the return to the Bann Rowing Club in Coleraine of London 2012 Olympic medallists Alan Campbell and Richard and Peter Chambers.

Rhys McClenaghan had a 10-year plan to become an Olympic champion after teaming up with coach Luke Carson as a 14-year-old.

Daniel Wiffen began splashing about a swimming pool when he was just three years old.

Jack McMillan suffered the personal heartbreak of losing both parents while pursuing his Olympic dream.

Rebecca Shorten was so disillusioned with rowing, she gave it up before her father, Robert, persuaded her to give it another go.

Philip Doyle stepped away from training to return to his duties as a doctor during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Every journey began somewhere. Every sportsperson has their own story to tell.

These six athletes from Northern Ireland are returning home with seven Olympic medals – four golds, a silver and two bronze.

It was one of the greatest weeks in the sporting history of Northern Ireland.

There hadn’t been an Olympic gold medal winner from Northern Ireland for 36 years since Stephen Martin and Jimmy Kirkwood were members of the Great Britain hockey team in Seoul.

It was 1972 in Munich that Lady Mary Peters won the pentathlon.

However this was the most talented group of athletes to ever compete at an Olympics from Northern Ireland, representing either Team GB or Team Ireland.

Many of the 38 athletes in Paris had already won medals at Commonwealth, European and World level.

In other words, none of what was achieved should have come as a surprise.

But how wonderful it was.

For the first time Northern Ireland had three current world champions competing in Paris.

Rhys McClenaghan, Hannah Scott and Daniel Wiffen are now Olympic champions.

They now want their success to inspire the children and young people who pack Northern Ireland’s gymnastics, rowing and athletics clubs and swimming pools and hockey pitches and every other sports organisation in the country.

“We can all be seen as coming from small towns here and there, and that demonstrates that with hard work, dedication and an obsession of your craft, you set out a goal and you aim for it pretty much your entire life and then it can happen one day,” said McClenaghan.

“Hopefully that’s an example for the younger generation, but also for the older generation aiming for those goals.”

Scott added, “What is possible is that it could be for anyone. I think anything is possible and you just have to put your mind to it. That’s where we had to start, and to be standing here today, we’ve dreamed of it but to actually be standing here is another thing, so anything is possible.”

Wiffen explained, “Yeah, 100% chase your dreams, you know what I mean?

“I was never a stand-out junior athlete. I was just training in my local club in Lisburn, and I was just training hard because I love the sport, and I love training, and then I just kept progressing and progressing.

“And the more I stayed in the water, the more I loved it, and then I started setting my sights even higher, and I just decided to start chasing my dreams, and anything’s possible when you have a dream in your head, so never give up.

“I’m only 23 and who knows what’s going to happen in the future, I’ve got a long swimming career ahead of me and to win the Olympic Games right now I’ve achieved everything in the sport that is possible.”

There are so many factors that go into the making of an Olympic champion from funding to facilities to the support of family and friends and great coaching.

Ultimately it comes down to the individual. Their journey, the highs and the lows, and how they deal with that goes further than anything else to making them the athlete that becomes the Olympic gold medalist.

Whether it’s coming from behind in the final one hundred metres of an 800m swim to win gold, conquering the jeopardy of the pommel horse by producing a world class performance or winning a rowing race with the very final stroke, Northern Ireland’s athletes have shown they are the best in the world.

Pele was right….

Merci Paris, tu étais incroyable