Dublin, Ireland (August 16, 2006)--Shortly after Paul Brizzel crossed the finish line after winning the 200m dash at the 2006 Irish Senior Track and Field Championships back in late July, he met the man with the most 200m senior titles in Irish history, current Manhattan assistant coach and long-time Jasper
Joe Ryan. Taking part in the 30th anniversary of his 1976 national title, Ryan presented the medal to the winner of the event he mastered back in the mid-1970s and early 1980s.
Each of the Irish National Champions from 1976 joined Ryan in presenting medals to the 2006 winners of the event that they won 30 years prior.
"It was wonderful to meet up with old friends and be reunited with some of the greats in Irish Athletics," said Ryan of the event.
Amongst the group of Irish greats who stood alongside Ryan for the ceremonies were Eammon Coghlan and Caroline O'Shea. Coghlan may be the most recognizable of the group as he clocked in at 3:49.78 for the indoor mile at the New Jersey Meadowlands back in 1983, a world record that stood until 1997. Coghlan also won the 5,000m run at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki the same year he ran his standard-setting mile. O'Shea was also successful on a world scale as she was an Olympic finalist in the 800m run at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Ryan, Coghlan, O'Shea and all of the former champions on hand received honorary medals commemorating their championships in 1976.
"The weekend brought back a lot of great memories," noted Ryan. "An affair like this gives everyone a greater appreciation of past accomplishments."
Ryan also presented the 2006 100m dash champion, Darragh Graham, with his medal. Although Ryan did not win the national championship for the 100m in 1976, he would break the national record for the event one year later. In 1977, Ryan broke both the Irish Senior and Junior National Records for the 100m and 200m.
During his sprinting days, Ryan claimed a record four 200m senior titles, while also establishing himself as the fastest man in Ireland on several different occasions.
A 1981 Manhattan graduate, Ryan also set records on the collegiate level. Ryan was a member of the Jaspers' record-holding outdoor sprint medley team that set the mark at the Rutgers Relays in 1979.
Following his days of competition, Ryan began what turned out to be an illustrious coaching career. As a coach at Manhattan, Ryan has had at least one of his athletes compete at every Olympics Games since 1992. One of those athletes, Aliann Pompey, became the first female in Manhattan History to win an NCAA National Championship. Pompey, who is now a volunteer assistant coach with the Jaspers, competed at the 2000 Games in Sydney and the 2004 Games in Athens for her native land of Guyana. Ryan also coached the first Lady Jasper runner to ever qualify for the NCAA Championships as hurdler Karen Chevalleau accomplished the feat in 1993.
In 2003, Ryan received the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year Award for his "expertise, longevity, and contribution to the school and community." He was one of 500 coaches selected from over 350,000 high school and collegiate nominees to garner the honor.
In addition to his coaching duties at Manhattan, Ryan serves as the Director of the Mathematics Department in the Nanuet Public School District.
