Hosted by Rosemary Daniel from PESS, the panel included double Paralympic medallist in swimming Róisín Ní Riain and her coach John Szaranek, 4 x 400m women’s relay team member Kelly McGrory, 4 x 400m mixed relay team member Thomas Barr and their coaches Drew and Hayley Harrison, paralympic rower Tiernán O’Donnell, and strength and conditioning coach Tom Comyns who also competed in the 4 x 100 relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Friday, 15 November 2024

As part of Science Week 2024, members of the UL community who made history in Paris 2024 gathered at UL’s Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences (PESS) to discuss the science behind coaching an Olympic athlete. 

Hosted by Rosemary Daniel from PESS, the panel included double Paralympic medallist in swimming Róisín Ní Riain and her coach John Szaranek, 4 x 400m women’s relay team member Kelly McGrory, 4 x 400m mixed relay team member Thomas Barr and their coaches Drew and Hayley Harrison, paralympic rower Tiernán O’Donnell, and strength and conditioning coach Tom Comyns who also competed in the 4 x 100 relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 

All shared their unique insights on preparations and competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics and the science behind coaching an Olympic athlete. Training programmes, the sociology of sport, sports psychology, technical aspects of performance, data analytics and sports technology were all explored.

PESS event science week
PESS event science week TOD RR
PESS event science week audience