Lady Mary Peters 'incredibly proud' of Olympic medal success for Northern Ireland athletes as she calls for more investment
Lady Mary Peters says it's important that Northern Ireland builds on their historic performance at the Olympics in the years to come.
The 1972 gold medallist made the comments after a record total of seven medals were won by athletes from the Province at this summer's Games in Paris - including gold for Hannah Scott (Team GB, rowing), Daniel Wiffen (Team Ireland, swimming), Jack McMillan (Team GB, swimming) and Rhys McClenaghan (Team Ireland, gymnastics).
Wiffen added a bronze in the pool, with Rebecca Shorten (Team GB, rowing) taking silver and Philip Doyle (Team Ireland, rowing) winning bronze.
As the Games drew to a close last night, Lady Peters says it is important that Northern Ireland's strong performance this summer is used as a foundation for further glory in the future.
“I’m incredibly proud of our six NI based medallists, but also of all our local athletes who competed for Team GB and Team Ireland. There were so many PBs and Irish records broken," she said.
"Each athlete has given of their very best. Being part of an Olympic Games is an experience of a lifetime and one that all our athletes will never forget.
"Winning an Olympic Gold can make a real difference to your life. Once you’ve won Gold, you’ll forever be an Olympic champion.
“However, if we want our local athletes to be ‘faster, higher and stronger’ and compete at the very top levels we need to create a pipeline for talented young sports people to develop and progress to European, Commonwealth, Olympic and World competitions.
"We need even more investment from the powers that be to help them get on those initial rungs of the international sporting ladder leading to funding streams such as the National Lottery.
“I’m confident with the right measures and support in place Northern Ireland will have more Olympic medallists going forward to Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032.”
Meanwhile, Richard Archibald, interim CEO of Sport NI, believes this summer's Olympics Games will go down as "a seminal moment" for sport in the Province.
He said: “I believe Paris 2024 will go down in history as a seminal moment for sport in Northern Ireland. Our medalists will surely inspire the next generation of athletes and give them the confidence to believe that Olympic success is possible.
“After winning her gold medal, Hannah Scott talked about how a pivotal moment for her was when the Chambers brothers and Alan Campbell came to the Bann Rowing Club with their Olympic medals. We now have six new ambassadors who I am sure will do the same, not just within their respective sports but across sport.
“The future is bright for sport in Northern Ireland, and we are privileged to support our sports and local athletes to achieve their dreams on the world stage.”
Mr Archibald confirmed that Sport NI is investing more money into more sports than ever before thanks to its £8m National Lottery funded Sports Systems Investment programme, which supports 34 sports governing bodies, including Olympic sports such as swimming, athletics, rowing and boxing.
“We are proud to fund both community level and high performance sport across Northern Ireland to ensure that our young people have opportunities to participate in the sport of their choice and to be supported and nurtured through performance pathways to reach the highest levels,” he added.
“At Sport NI we are proud to support so many of our talented athletes as they strive for success on the world stage. Our National Lottery funded Athlete Award supports athletes so they can focus on their training and achieve their potential. It has been a stepping stone for some of our most decorated athletes as they transition onto national funding schemes with Team Ireland and Team GB.”