Triathlon Ireland has announced the appointment of Gary Ryan as Performance Director. While Tokyo Olympian Russell White also joined the team earlier this year, as Apprentice Coach at the National Triathlon Centre, UL.
Following an extensive international recruitment process, Gary Ryan will take up his position at the National Triathlon Centre UL from January. Gary will take ownership of the strategic leadership and delivery of the Performance Programme, and all elements related to Performance contained in Triathlon Ireland’s ‘Transform, Together 2021-28 Strategic Plan’.
Gary Ryan brings over two decades of experience across every layer of the high-performance system – from athlete to educator, coach, and senior leader. As Head of Capability and Expertise at the Sport Ireland Institute, he has led national initiatives to strengthen the skills, knowledge, and collaboration of coaches, performance staff, and leaders across Ireland’s high performance network. His work has directly shaped the development environment for Paris 2024 and set the foundation for the LA and Brisbane cycles ahead.
A two-time Olympian and World Indoor bronze medallist, Gary combines lived experience of elite performance with a proven record of developing others to reach that level. He has coached multiple international and Olympic athletes, guided national teams at youth and senior level, and contributed extensively to sport research, education, and governance. His leadership roles with Athletics Ireland, the University of Limerick, NUI Galway, and the Tipperary Senior Hurling Team highlight his ability to bridge academic insight with practical performance impact.
Joining the National Triathlon Centre team as Apprentice Coach earlier in the summer, Russell White is a stalwart of the Irish triathlon team. Russell recently celebrated an incredible 130 starts at World Triathlon Level. Since his first international race at the 2010 Athlone European Championships, White has gone on to race at World Triathlon Championship Series level, and reached the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
