Irish Institute of Sport:So far the Irish Institute of Sport has been more model than reality, but it moved further towards the latter yesterday with the appointment of Greg Whyte as the first national director of sports science.

Already well established in British sports science research, Whyte is the first of four key institute appointments, and his contract initially runs to the end of next year's Beijing Olympics.

The institute, however, is a long-term project that won't really kick in until the 2012 Olympics in London, and Whyte's expertise is sure to benefit Irish sport in the coming years. A former international modern pentathlete for 16 years, he competed in two Olympic Games and won European bronze and World Championship silver medals, and is currently Professor of Applied Sport and Exercise Science at John Moore's University in Liverpool.

"I'll also be focusing on longevity, and creating a legacy for the future, and giving athletes the right environment where they can flourish," he said. "But it's not a question of trying to fix what's not broken, because a lot of sports already have excellent sports science structures in place.

"My job is about enhancing the quality already there, and also using my experience as an international athlete to try to avoid the mistakes that I know are often made. In the main, sports science can make about a one per cent difference in performance, but it can also make a 90 per cent difference."

Whyte will eventually be based in Dublin, working under institute executive chairman Seán Kelly, with the three remaining key positions - a technical director, medical director and director of athlete support - to be appointed this year.

His main responsibility is co-ordinating the delivery of sports science services to Ireland's elite athletes, in areas such as nutrition, psychology, strength and conditioning, performance analysis, biomechanics and exercise physiology.

Although just 39, his experience in this area includes his role as consultant physiologist to a number of sports teams, including Benetton Formula One and British Olympic squads, and football clubs, including Liverpool and West Ham. From 2004 to 2006 he was national science co-ordinator for the English Institute of Sport, and before that was director of research for the British Olympic Association based at the Olympic Medical Institute.

The institute will eventually be the centrepiece of the proposed Abbotstown development.

Introducing Whyte yesterday, Kelly made it clear that they had found the right man: "When we went to fill this position one name that kept cropping up was Greg Whyte," he said. "He was an outstanding athlete himself, has an excellent track record, and we're very excited about his input over the coming years."