Captain Phil leads Ireland by example on and off the track

PHIL Healy is the captain who covers all the bases. It’s the small details that make a difference.

The Ballineen Bullet was joint captain of the Team Ireland athletics squad at the European Games in Krakow, which doubled up as the European Team Championships.

At Dublin Airport, in ‘the shop with the sheep’, Healy bought a few Irish tricolours to have in Poland – and they came in handy.

It was one of those Irish flags that Healy and Thomas Barr, the joint captains, held when they stood on top of the podium on Thursday after leading Ireland to an impressive Division 3 triumph.

That was the goal at these team championships: to win promotion back to Division 2, and Ireland did, topping the table with 494 points after 37 events, with Austria and Israel in second and third.

‘To be standing on the podium like that, it wasn’t something I had experienced before,’ the Bandon AC track star told The Southern Star.

‘We normally don’t have team captains unless it’s a competition like this, and it really was an honour. Ten years ago, my first Irish vest happened to a senior vest as well – before I ever got a junior vest – and I made my debut at the team championships held in Dublin in 2013. So to be captain now, alongside Thomas Barr, of such a big team was an honour.’

Tokyo Olympian Healy used her huge experience to help and support the large Irish athletics team, but as well as lead off the track she played her part on it too. It’s been a difficult period for Healy, with health issues impacting her performances, but she still raced to second place (23:79) in the women’s 200m, behind Austria’s Susanne Gogl-Walli (23:09).

‘The time was irrelevant, it was a bit slower than I had hoped, but it was all about getting team points. I knew the Austrian was going to be quicker going into the race so for me it was all about getting those 14 points and doing what I could for the team,’ Healy explained.

‘Things are starting to improve for me. I am missing that little bit of speed but that will come with consistency, and I can take that into next year which is more important.’

Healy was one of three West Cork athletes in action for the athletics team. Her older sister Joan was part of the Irish women’s 4x100m relay team that finished second, and it could have been better if not for a messy baton handover heading into the final 100 metres. Also, Kilbrittain teen Nicola Tuthill (19) threw a huge new PB in the women’s hammer as she finished second in her first senior international championships.

‘Nicola was unbelievable,’ Healy beamed. ‘Her first senior vest, talk about standing up, a great girl and we were all delighted for her.’

Next up for Healy is the Morton Games on July 14th where she will run the 200m, then it’s the 400m at the AAI Games that weekend, and she will make a call on what to attack at the senior outdoor national championships at the end of July.