Donnelly playing his part at Paris Olympics

LEADING Strength and Conditioning coach Peter Donnelly is attending the Olympic Games as part of Ireland’s Sevens Rugby team.

The Coalisland man has been employed as an Athletics Performance Coach with the Irish Rugby Football Union since 2021, and he’ll be hopeful that their Sevens team will make their mark in only their second time to qualify for the tournament.

Having qualified for the Paris Olympics a year ago, they’ve had ample time to prepare and got their campaign underway with Pool match victories against South Africa and Japan yesterday, ensuring their place in the quarter-finals.

The Sevens competition takes place from 24-30 July at the Stade de France, commencing two days before Friday’s official opening ceremony.

Donnelly’s involvement is a measure of his standing in the coaching world. The former Tyrone footballer was on the sideline as they won their fourth ever All-Ireland title in 2021, but he stepped aside in 2022 to focus on his professional career.