Irish cycling now has two voices inside the Irish Olympic movement following last night's elections.
Only one of them may have been nominated to contest the Olympic Council of Ireland elections, but the sport of cycling still has two of its own in key positions after last night’s election.
Former Cycling Ireland presidents PJ Nolan and Denis Toomey were both successful in the elections they contest at the Olympic Council of Ireland EGM in Dublin.
And not both are members of the officer board; filling two of the seven positions on the executive that were on offer last night.
Nolan was president of the national cycling federation from 2000 to 2004 and is a member of the wider Nolan family that has been key to developing Navan Road Club.
A former broadcaster who worked on RTE’s agricultural programming, Nolan has kept his hand in with the television world as a cycling commentator during Olympic coverage over the years.
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Toomey was Cycling Ireland president until the incumbent Ciaran McKenna took over a just over a year ago.
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His specialist area when president was paracycling and since departing the cycling federation he has worked as Chef de Mission of the Irish team at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.
And it was Paralympics Ireland that nominated Toomey to run for a place on the Olympic Council of Ireland’s executive committee; the same category Nolan was contesting.
There were 18 candidates for the seven executive committee posts to be filled, underlining the competition for the roles and the significance of Nolan and Toomey emerging victorious.
While their loyalty must be to all Olympic sports, both have a firm understanding of the need for a velodrome in Ireland and having them inside the Olympic movement can hopefully add to the push to get the velodrome over the line.
Well known cycling figure from Carrick-on-Suir Billy Kennedy has also moved into the position of OCI honorary treasurer after his only rival in the election withdrew.
Kennedy has been an Olympic Council of Ireland official for 25 years and has attended the last seven Olympics in official capacities.
He managed the Olympic cycling team at the 1988 Games and following the 1992 Games he was elected into a post with the Olympic Council of Ireland and has held that position ever since.
The biggest news from last night was the landslide election of Swim Ireland’s Sarah Keane who now takes over as president of the OCI from Pat Hickey.
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