Busy Twomey relishing twin role on home water
You don't get too many World Championships where the president of the international federation is also a competitor. It is the case for Ballinhassig native John Twomey, who will be gunning for a medal at the Cork County Council IFDS World Championships, while also juggling with the responsibilities that go with being boss of the IFDS (International Association of Disabled Sailing).
The fact that the championships are being hosted by his own Kinsale Yacht Club, in one of the most heavenly marinas imaginable, makes it all worthwhile though.
Not that he is in anyway under pressure. John Twomey doesn't do stress. Infectiously enthusiastic, it is little wonder that the 57-year-old has shrugged off the potential devastation of breaking his back and neck as a 14-year-old, to become a highly successful sportsman and businessman.
Twomey was a budding cyclist in his youth, learning the ropes with Riverstick Cycling Club and hurling with Ballinhassig as well. It was a fall from a bike during a Cork championship time trial that cast his life in a new direction. So he got on with it.
He learned to sail, finding it a place where his disability was no disability at all. Yet it was off the water that he made his reputation initially in the sporting sphere, winning a silver medal in table tennis at the Arnhem Paralympics in 1980, bronze in the discus in New York four years later and pocketing a coveted gold memento from the Seoul Games in the same discipline in 1988.
London was his 10th Paralympics and he is the first Irish person, able-bodied or disabled, to reach the remarkable landmark. As he got older, he decided that it was time to change disciplines and his past four Paralympics have been in sailing.
Looking at that brief synopsis of a life that has also seen Twomey establish a successful accountancy practice, it is easy to understand how the genial Corkman can handle his twin responsibilities this week.
"They're two different roles altogether. (For) the competitor role, the last three days aren't the most important three days of the preparation; it's the whole package. So I'm able to mix both roles quite easily" explains Twomey.
"I've been in business all my life so I'm well used to multi-tasking."
"The main (presidential) role during the week is in the opening and closing ceremonies. There will be certain functions that I will have to attend but notwithstanding that, the sailing happens during the day. That's when you're out on the water.
"I'm very lucky that we have a very good structure for these events so the people are in place from both Kinsale Yacht Club and the Federation to manage and organise these things. So it takes a lot of pressure off the likes of the president then.
"There's an excellent organising committee that we have together in Kinsale Yacht Club. One of the Federation vice-presidents is coming in from Canada, Brian Todd, and he's going to take a lot of my roles over for me.
"So it's just a matter of organising yourself and co-ordinating it. And you know what? A bit of common sense goes a long way in life."
The action gets under way on Monday and it will be the culmination of a lot of work by Twomey and many others. The organising committee, led by regatta director John Stallard, has been working for more than two years to bring this event to Irish shores for the first time.
Kinsale Yacht Club was redeveloped in the last year thanks to an €800,000 investment generated, not by public funding or grants, but through fundraising by the members and the procurement of a bank loan.
Twomey is so proud that Kinsale's considerable charms are being exposed to the world. Proud too, that the community has rallied around to make sure everything is in place for such a major event.
"It's wonderful. It's creating a great buzz in the town. We have 18 countries in at this stage, 75 boats in for it and every boat comes with a coach. There's a lot of family, friends, officials and media from around the world here. Kinsale is a cosmopolitan, international place and it really suits this. And people love the town. They absolutely love it."
Twomey and his crew of Ian Costello and Anthony Hegarty lead the Irish charge, with three crews in total competing in the Sonar class. Paul McCarthy, Brian O'Mahoney and Paul Ryan will also be competing, as will Jacqui Browne, Amy Kelehan and Austin O'Carroll.
Medal hopes are likely to rest with Twomey and co but he faces strong opposition with the first three combinations from London - Netherlands, Germany and Norway - in attendance, along with a number of other former world champions.
These include New Zealand duo David Barnes and Richard Dodson, who were able-bodied world champions before being diagnosed with MS. Twomey expects to rise to the challenge.
"From our own perspective -and that's the only one I can speak from - we have a lot of good preparation work done. I have the team that I had in London and the three of us have been together for a few years. We're comfortable in what we're doing and like everything in life, a bit of luck never goes astray.
"The gold, silver and bronze medallists from London are here and a number of others that have been world champions. So you've the cream of the cream here and we're up there with them. We're not favourites but we're comfortable where we are and with a bit of luck, who knows?"
Regardless of what happens on the water, Twomey knows that the championships will leave a legacy.
"The support we've got from Cork County Council, who are our chief sponsor and the Irish Sports Council, who have featured us as one of the Sports Gathering events, has been great. The work that the town has done in making it accessible - the local council and county council have been phenomenal and that legacy will be left in Kinsale.
"Everyone has complimented the town on how accessible it is and how well it looks.It's a great promotion of Ireland, of Kinsale and of Paralympic sailing."
The IFDS World Championships are proudly sponsored by Cork County Council, Irish Sports Council, The Gathering, Lilly, Irish Sailing Association and Kinsale Yacht Club.