 So time to continue with Highland Radio's preview of the Tokyo Olympics taking place this summer and Another dunny-go-man that is heading that way is Michael Black Michael. It's good to see and good to talk to you Good to be here. Thank you. Thanks very much Well Michael you of course are national head coach with that with triathlon Ireland I you've got a team of two heading out that direction is leaving on Wednesday But from your own personal point of view, it's gonna be a first games for you exciting time Yeah, first games, I suppose in a professional capacity I've attended other games as a spectator But this is the first time as a as a coach and suppose looking looking after a team And it's like an athlete. That's as well as a coach This is something you dream off and work hard towards and very few people get the opportunity to do it So yeah, I'm very much in a privileged position to Especially in the times that we're at the minute to even be getting on a plane and traveling anywhere But add a bonus is obviously going to go into Olympic games. Yeah Yeah, were you worried along the way that these games might and happen and maybe the chance might be missed by it? Yeah, of course, obviously with the cancellation of it last year. We had everything prepped right up until Hopefully it was taking place in the summer of 2020, but unfortunately it was cancelled at the last minute, which Yeah, you get worried was it going to ever happen at all or were we going to just Keep rolling over and rolling over, but thankfully we got things going and the Japanese government are very keen to To have the games going and they've done everything possible to make it a safe games as well as the Olympic Federation of Ireland here and all other federations around the world and I think the athletes are very very keen to To get the games going now and not not postpone it for another year So everyone's just keen to get on the plane and get the job done Okay, tell us about your your athletes then Russell Whites and Caroline Hayes are the two who have qualified for Tokyo, Michael Yeah, so if two athletes a male the female Russell Whites from Bambridge and Northern Ireland and we have Caroline Hayes from Limerick So these are two athletes that have qualified each Federation gets Two plus two so two male two female slots and it's based on a point system So obviously the higher you finish up in the points the more chance you have to to gain a slot for the for the nation for the country so and once that's happened then there's a selection process where You get the National Federation holds a selection meeting and they select the best person possible at that time to go to the game So at the end of the qualification yet, we had we had two male and female available and qualified to go Was it a hectic qualification end of schedule? I like how you were but globetrotten over the last six months or so trying to get the rankings for both athletes Was it as hectic as what the likes of Mark English had to go through to get his place in Tokyo? Yeah, very similar probably probably even more so because For instance and mark situation, you know and a lot of athletes They just try and go for one time so to speak to get that qualifying time Whereas what's rathlan at the top 55? Female athletes in the top 55 male athletes in the world and by the time you take out the slots for the relay team and that's the National country where it's been held and gets a couple of slots and other slots are given out There's very few slots left maybe only roughly between 25 to 29 slots available to any male or female athletes So the chances of actually qualifying Outright is very very slim And the races are spread around the world typically all the time even an outside of cova times But what happened here's races got cancelled And it made the window of opportunity even tighter. So instead of maybe having Say 12 opportunities to qualify it was condensed into six races over six weeks and six different countries and three continents So we only stopped the qualifying Travel I suppose in the last two weeks, which for Russell especially was in hotelco in Mexico Caroline secured a spot a lot earlier than that a few races back So yeah, it was very very Spoke stressful time for the athletes who were already a year behind in terms of their qualifying But now had to try and work out how they were going to logistically get around the world safely Have the opportunity to get to a race with maybe testing positive or just staying fit and then perform weekend after weekend Around the world. So you had to take in the account Jet lag knock it in your proper training not having the support and the resources around you And just been up for just going a hundred percent max every single weekend for six weeks in a row So luckily he has to say Carlin she qualified Earlier than that Russell Went right up right to the wire in the last race in the toco in Mexico a couple of weeks back And he got word then that he qualified also so and yeah, the covert situation makes it a hell of a lot More complicated. So even for us to fly tomorrow. I've had a test yesterday Had a test two days before that we're having antigen tests every couple of days And then when we travel to the airport, we'll have more tests And then we're getting tested every single day when we're there and that's the college and in the holding camp So it's yeah logistically it's I said to someone. Yes It's kind of gone beyond sport at this stage with the what the amount of Admin that you have to do with it But here look at lobby worth it and end up once we sit in that plane and close our eyes and go to sleep for a few years It's not a bit crazy So it is Michael that the environment that that we live in at the moment and the current climate there on the under Covernance effect and all sorts of walks of life But I'm just thinking there what Russell had to go through over the last number of weeks to get his place We'll take its toll on the body and I suppose this is where your Role within the campus is more so important that you have to try and have him in tip-top shape now come come Tokyo Yeah, you I think in that sense with the qualifying in the last kind of 68 weeks. It's about just trying to maintain Stay healthy at one that there's not a massive amount you can do in terms of physical fitness or getting adaptation towards getting fitter in that point it's just a matter of Trying to be sharp and be as healthy and as be as less fatigued as you can in between flights So yeah, it takes a lot of kind of thought, you know, where do you get the tipping point in that? How much do you do or how little can you get away with without tipping them over the edge where he goes into another race? Which is so important every single race is more important than the next because you just keep gaining points. So Some days you just have to say okay today We're not training or today we're taking it really easy because another hard session It's just not viable at the minute because we're getting on a plane tomorrow and we're flying 12 hours around the world And then you're gonna be posted for that next day. And so there's a lot of things outside of probably what you can do in your own professional coaching expertise You're having to think like more of a more of a friend situation there because they're it's a stressful situation They've got so much things around their head and there's massive pressure on them to perform week in week out And we forget that they're just humans. So even for me as a coach I was wrecked just traveling alone. So I can't imagine what it would be like to Put your training on top of that and the pressure then of having to perform at a hundred percent on that Saturday or Sunday of the week So yeah, it does take a lot of a lot of kind of thought into what you structure and what you put down on paper for them every day The week but being there with them every single day does help. So again, I was traveling with them So you see the dynamics of what was through their head and and the psychological games that goes on and Yeah, you have to dig deep into your own expertise and think, you know What is best for the athlete at the time and what is going to give them the best opportunity to perform on that day? And I suppose that's what you that's what you're there to do That's what your job is and you have to get the best out of them But at the end of the day you're dealing with people and I think that's the that's a key factor here And you have to be you have to show empathy towards that and make sure you clear have a good communication between the two people that are there and Hopefully at the end up you get your result and luckily. Yeah, we got a result and and now we just have to go and Perform again one more time for one big last dance What would be the perfect result for you guys for a triathlon Ireland? Where would you like to see your your athletes Russell and Carolyn? Where would you like to see them perform and end up with what's seen as a good result and took you Michael? Yeah, I'd love to see them on the podium. That would be great Realistic target Triathlon is a triathlon is a very dynamic sport in general and even with the dynamics of of what's happening around the minute And then the dynamics of a race anything can happen We have kind of internal targets and strategic targets Which our first one was to get a male or female on the start line which which we've obviously achieved once you get to that point then It's it's very very hard to dictate what what the situation is going to be I think you know anywhere inside back in the top 2025 for any athletes Anything more than that is as a as a really a fantastic performance But again, we just don't know because we can't go and pass form or anything With their own athletes and then even the athletes are out there because of the situation that we've been in the last 12 months Where everybody's preparation is upside down There's no no one has had a lovely transition where you can go and do your your heat adaptation your altitude camp You can stay there for your three months and build it and build it and build it to get the point where you peak There's very very few people who are going to be in the start line in Tokyo who are probably going to be at their peak Because of the situation leading and it has not been ideal far from ideal So in that situation It's open to anybody you'll always going to have your favorites who are going to turn up and You could nearly rubber stamp on them where they're going to finish I think anywhere outside that top 10 and down as as an as an open race for anybody And the conditions are going to be so tough They're going to be when we went there two years ago for the test event First thing in the morning when the race was anywhere between half six and seven o'clock in the morning It was over 30 degrees and 95 percent humidity And the water temperature is 29 degrees So to give you an indication if you go into any pool around the country They set between 28 to 29 degrees. So that's how hot it is in the water So there's no cooling effect even from going into the water. It actually gets worse. So Yeah, that's for us. We want to obviously get the guys there Perform as best they possibly can on the day and whatever the result will be will be But again, I think anything from that 10 to 15 downwards is really open to open to anybody From your own personal point of view, Michael, you're another of the Donegal contingent Head in that direction and we've been speaking to a few of them over the last couple of weeks in the lead up to Tokyo What do you want to get out of it yourself, Michael? It's a it's a big experience for you in a different capacity You've been at previous games, but now you're going in a coaching capacity and on the playing back What do you hope to have achieved yourself out of the whole thing, Michael? Yeah, I suppose it's very hard and take time to reflect on your own Performances and what you do get out of that and I suppose what the lead up to this and because it's been so hectic I I genuinely haven't even really thought about that to be honest and I think the only time that we'll get Maybe to do that is on the road out and the road back again Um, but for me again, you know It's essentially about the athletes at the end of the day We're here to do a job and I want them to have the best experience they possibly can and My role is to provide as much support as I can when I'm there and even now like we're in Donegal at the minute We have all the athletes here And that was purposely done the facilities around here fantastic the resources here. We have great support We have the network of people here The guys loved it here. So Yeah, for me personally, yeah, obviously I'm going to represent my country in a coaching capacity. So First and foremost, I want to be there for the athletes and provide the best support for them After that if I can absorb as much of the environment as I possibly can and and take a moment just to step back and go You know that this is phenomenal And I think we have to do that because if we don't you'll just you'll burn out and you won't take the experience So I will hope to at some point out there When they start on the start line and I can take a step back and just Take a look around me and take a couple of photographs and go Yeah, this is this is supposed to pinnacle of where you want to get in your professional career and Maybe in the return flight Sit back and just maybe take a few notes and reflect and and see where we can go because For us the qualifying starts for paris 2024 in january So as soon as we come back on we do their view and we put the word championships in October so it's back on the back on the merry-go-round again. But yeah It's it's how I hope to take time to reflect at some point Yeah I know you have your your team here and your athletes here in dunagol for the last couple of weeks Michael before you head away and con d'Ordi is the reserve athlete there You've also got a very very exciting young lady I heard her name mentioned before by a few people you have her here in and dunagol She's from county mayo listen She's got relations from dunagol and her name is may have gala her and she'll be one watch out come paris next time around Is that fair to say Michael? Yeah, no may have is may have an exceptional athlete in this as representative of country in a number of different sports Including cycling and athletics as well. We're supposed to very blessed to have her in terms of triathlon I'm sure other people in my position and performance directors around out of the national government bodies of sport would love to have her but Yeah, she's definitely one for Definitely one for the future in the next three years. She just turned 20 Phenomenal biker Phenomenal runner and yeah a work class for athlete obviously the end of us. So, yeah, she'd be one that we would hoping to Put a lot of work into over the next three years and I'll say that qualifying starts in january for 2024 It's a two-year one-do of opportunity to get as many points as possible Yep, she has strong relations here in the Jennings and dunagol which If anyone knows them guys they're they're they're they're very good athletes on their own right and She definitely has that steely determination shown by by some of the Jennings over the years So, um, I'm sure she has her own aspirations where she wants to go And again, yeah, we took them to dunagol here. So we have Russell here James Edgar and a fantastic athlete who will be Hopefully going to the Commonwealth Games and and the olympics in the coming years con doherty again relationship with dunagol in terms of his families from clon mani and then the shone area So, yeah In the future, we would hope to have these guys back here because We know it can work here and we know that the environment here is to foster the to the performance of these guys in the future So, yeah, keep an eye on film and hopefully we'll be we'll be there in a couple years I know it's a very exciting time to you for you Michael and this is the pinnacle of the sport for for triathlon So what is um, we're speaking here the day before you jump on a plane say christmas for you sleep tonight, will you? Have you seen what I had to do before I got off? I don't think there'll be much sleeping That's kind of last minute calm for a lot of things you you prepare everything and And you think that the day before the two days before you'll be sitting back and maybe throwing a few things in a bag, but The guys are we're just out of the swimming pool this morning there They've got a Bike session now to do and they'll be doing a run in the evening time before Myself and Russell starts packing bags. So, um, yeah, it'll be exciting Yeah, I don't think there'll be much sleep done the admin side of the covet which is With so many apps on our phone to upload all the kind of documentation that just to get there So I think a lot of the evening will be spent making sure of everything printed off and come with Come with your folder stuff to the airport in the morning to make sure that we Just get through the airport I think that's the biggest stress for everybody The other stuff is is easy done. We're well used to traveling around the world but Just the paperwork and making sure that you've got your qr codes for your apps for the japanese government and And your hard copies of all your cova test is probably going to what's going to keep me up tonight Well, that's an legal good to talk to you and we wish you the best of luck with your your Tokyo trip to the Olympic games To you and your team and a team trap on Ireland for the the coming games. It's going to be spectacular. Enjoy it And have a nice one on a safe one Lovely, I appreciate that. Thank you very much. Awesome. Take care