Organising the logistics for Ireland’s largest ever Olympic team is no small task.
In 2012 just over 60 athletes and their support staff travelled to London.
That was only a hop over the water and organising it was a doddle compared with the job of getting as many as 80 athletes and 50 support staff to Rio de Janeiro - a city on the other side of the world - and catering to their every sporting need.
“It’s massive; much, much bigger than London because of the distance involved,” said Kevin Kilty, Ireland’s Olympic Chef de Mission, the man who is in charge of every aspect of the travelling party.
“Just one aspect is the flights - London was quite easy because there were between 30 and 40 flights from Dublin to London every day. To Rio you have to travel through one of the European hubs or the United States and that limits the number of options.”
There are 53 European national olympic committees trying to get their people on a limited number of flights. The Irish party will be travelling mainly with Lufthansa and Air France through Frankfurt and Paris from Dublin and then on to Brazil.
“An even bigger problem is going to be getting home after the closing ceremony on 21 August. The 22nd is the day most people are leaving and the village closes on the 23rd - it’ll be like a ghost town!” marvelled Kilty.
Kilty was a competitive shooter, though he never competed at an Olympics, and he also tried his hand at hurling, wind surfing, golf, kenpo karate and cross country running, before turning to the coaching side of olympic shooting, which saw him to the 2008 and 2012 games.
His day job is running Merrion Capital Group’s IT operation, though he has been on sabbatical for the past two years and is working for the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) as a volunteer.
“Do I have faith in the organising committee? Yes; I think they are doing a fantastic job.” - Ireland Olympic Chef de Mission Kevin Kilty
Irish sporting legend Sonia O’Sullivan was chef de mission at London 2012 and played her part in the country’s most successful Games both in terms of participation and medals.
With nearly 70 athletes already qualified and as many as 82 in line to make the trip to Rio Kilty is in charge of the biggest team, which is backed by Electric Ireland, Ireland has ever sent.
“Team sports have helped bulk up the numbers,” he said. “Hockey are our first team sport at the Olympics since 1948 and they have 16 players, and there are six in horse sports.
“There’s also a possibility of rugby sevens - they have a qualifying tournament in June, which brings further logistical problems. Fortunately for me, the office staff have been doing a fantastic job to manage the whole situation.
“Of course, everyone aspires to bring home medals. I’m sure there will be surprises and disappointments.
“The quality of athletes for Rio are as good, if not better, than for London and in a lot of cases they are the same athletes with four more years of experience.
“As long as people get the opportunity to put in the performance they are capable of, then our job is done,” said Kilty, who refused to quantify what would make a successful 2016 Olympic Games for Ireland in terms of gold, silver and bronze.
Rio is the centre of concerns about security, transport, water quality, completion of venues and health ahead of the August 5 opening ceremony.
Kilty says the OCI are keeping a close eye on all of these and other situations, passing on the best advice available to Ireland’s competitors.
But he insists that Rio will be safe for athletes, in spite of the recent Zika virus scare, and that the venues will be ready for a spectacular fortnight of sport at the first South American Olympic Games.
“Always the security and health and safety of athletes is our primary concern,” he said. “Inside the bubble, inside the village, is the safest place to be. Quality of the food in the village is fantastic - the dining hall (above, under construction) is half a kilometre long.
“Do I have faith in the organising committee? Yes; I think they are doing a fantastic job.”
