Anne Gormley is synonymous with Race Walking and Donore Harriers. She has won 8 World & European Master Athletics Championship medals, including 3 team gongs: – 2005 European Masters 10km Road Walk (silver) & 3km Walk (bronze), 2010 World Masters 10km & 3km Walks (both bronze), 2011 World Masters XC team (silver), 2012 World Masters 10km Walk (bronze), 2016 World Masters XC team (silver) and 2019 World Masters XC team (silver). She has won many national titles and is a regular on the Donore Harriers national track & field league team.
STANDARD QUESTIONS
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? Dublin. 20th March 1963
WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? Oaklands Community College, Edenderry
WHAT IS YOUR PLANNED CAREER PATH? Post-person
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? I joined in 2001
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? I knew some of the members and they encouraged me to join
WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? Yes, Carbury AC and Edenderry AC.
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORTS? I played Gaelic football and national league squash.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? Race-Walking
WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? Athlete.
WHO WERE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? Sonia O’Sullivan, Eamon Coghlan, Jim McNamara, Carl Lewis
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? The Humours of Edenderry by Sean Norman.
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? The Script
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
1. Ghost
2. Sister Act
3. Independence Day
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? Australia
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Travel, cinema, gardening…
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHO ARE YOUR COACHES? Willie Smith, Sandra O’Neill, Daniel Jacome
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? My double bronze at the World Masters Championships at Kamloops in Canada in 2010.
<ANNE’S TIMES were 18.27.12 for the 3km and 1.05.18 for the 10km>
WHAT ARE YOU BEST TIMES (PBs)?
3km WALK – 17.26
10km WALK – 1.05.15
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? 5 x 1,000m
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? 3 x 5km
WHAT IS A TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN? Monday – 5 x 100m, Tuesday – 5km and spin class, Wednesday – gym and 8km, Thursday – 30 min bodypump, Friday – rest, Saturday – boxcise spin, Sunday – 1hour plus 7km.
WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT DONORE HARRIERS? I would like to see more senior athletes getting involved in the national league
WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME (ALL SPORTS)?
1. Jim McNamara
2. Sonia O’Sullivan
3. Eamon Coghlan
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
WHAT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN AT THE CLUB DURING THE TERM OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP? I’ve seen a lot more coaches getting involved with the juvenile and junior grades, which is great! The women taking part in the national league is another very positive step
WHAT IS YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN RACE-WALKING APART FROM TRAINING AND COMPETITION? I am a national judge in race-walking with Athletics Ireland
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU REPRESENTED IRELAND AND HOW MANY MAJOR MEDALS HAVE YOU WON? I’ve represented Ireland more than 20 times and won more than 30 medals
IRELAND HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT WORLD LEVEL IN RACE-WALKING, YET IT REMAINS AN EVENT THAT IS LARGELY IGNORED. WHAT DO YOU THINK MUST BE DONE TO PROMOTE RACE-WALKING AT CLUB LEVEL, INCLUDING DONORE HARRIERS? Race-walking needs to be part of every event from juvenile to masters, both in track and on the road. Clubs and county boards should promote race-walking through a programme of training sessions
YOU ARE A GREAT SUPPORTER OF THE NATIONAL TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE – AND A REGULAR TEAM MEMBER. DO YOU THINK THE FORMAT OF THE LEAGUE SHOULD BE CHANGED/IMPROVED UPON? The league was started to get more clubs involved in track and field. I think the introduction of county teams makes it harder for most club to compete, so maybe a separate division for county teams would be fairer to the clubs
RACE-WALKING IS SEEN AS A DUBIOUS EVENT OWING TO THE RULES BEING DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND/REFEREE. HOW DO YOU DEFEND AGAINST SUCH NEGATIVITY/SCEPTICISM? Race-walking is such a technical and difficult event. Most athletes will compete within the rules, but there is always the few which give the event a bad press. But we carry on…