STABLEMASTER ANNOUNCES DECISION TO NO LONGER COACH AOIFE COOKE

I spent much of this past summer in the western United States in the state of Utah working with Aoife Cooke, preparing her for the Olympics. During our time in Utah, I made the decision that after the Games—regardless of her performance—it would be best for Aoife and me to part ways. As of today, I will no longer coach Aoife Cooke.

In December 2018, Aoife Cooke asked me to coach her. At that time, she had a marathon personal best (PB) of 2:46. Within 10 months, Aoife dropped her marathon PB to 2:32:34  (down almost 14 minutes). With that run, she won the Irish Marathon Championship, moved to fifth place on the Irish All-Time List, and achieved the fastest run ever by an Irish woman on Irish soil.

In April 2021, Aoife won the Cheshire Elite Marathon with a time of 2:28:36, taking an additional four minutes off her PB. This time qualified her to represent Ireland in the Tokyo Olympics and advanced her to fourth place on the Irish All-Time List (ahead of Ireland’s greatest ever athlete, Sonia O’Sullivan). Within just over two years, Aoife went from being a club runner to becoming an Olympian and fulfilling a lifelong dream.

I am proud of my role in Aoife’s accomplishments, and on behalf of Stazza’s Stable, wish Aoife the best of luck for the future.