Assessing performance after Paris 2024

Each nation will initiate a performance review after the Paris 2024 Olympics, with the fans and media already offering opinion. After Ireland won no sailing medals, here is commentary by columnist WM Nixon:

We invest so much in our Olympic sailors: Money. Hope, Understanding. Emotional Support. Trying to comprehend and meet the Olympians’ needs. Trying to know when to come forward. Trying to know when to hold back. Being aware when publicity is needed. Being very aware when it isn’t. And finally, we invest expectations.

Inevitably, we feel there has never been quite enough money. For sure, Irish sailing Olympians may sometimes seem to be generously funded by comparison with other Olympic sports in this country. But as a vehicle sport, sailing starts from an expensive base. And as soon as our would-be Olympians start to move into and up the international scale, they find that several other nations are operating in a different league in terms of resources of all kinds, ranging from more money to larger support teams, while being boosted by a much stronger history of international medal winning. – Full report