The Italian oversaw the last two Olympiads, where Ireland won four medals. The team for Paris 2024 comprised a record seven crews and won gold and bronze medals. His achievements as the head of the Ireland programme also included a string of World Championship and European Championship medals.
The email to the athletes on Tuesday said that given the changes in the Olympic programme (Los Angeles 2028 will include Beach Sprints), Rowing Ireland had decided to go a different direction and thanked Maurogiovanni for his service. The interim programme lead coach will be Dominic Casey, who has been the Ireland lightweight coach.
While he has a record of success, Maurogiovanni has been a sometimes controversial figure. The post-Olympic review done on behalf of Rowing Ireland, though not published, had included criticism of his style and programme. The focus of a criticism from one senior athlete was that Maurogiovanni’s programme was outdated; while it produced short-term results, there was a high chance of athlete burnout.
And at the Annual General Meeting of Rowing Ireland in September, the Skibbereen delegate asked Maurogiovanni to deal with allegations made by TD Brendan Griffin regarding the welfare of athletes.
In addition, a number of complaints from athletes are pending.
However, a number of the most senior athletes in the Ireland programme had been hoping that Maurogiovanni would have had his contract renewed and were surprised at the news and how it was conveyed.
“I don’t really know the what or why of it,” one successful Olympian told the Irish Independent. “I’m very disappointed.”
“I know he’s a very divisive character, but I owe my career to him,” they added. “He’s really built a lot of athletes up and coming into a third (Olympic) cycle, they have a lot of trust in him.”
Casey has effectively run his own lightweight programme in parallel with Maurogiovanni’s. The Skibbereen man was the coach of the Ireland men’s lightweight double which took silver in 2016 (Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan), and gold in 2020 and 2024 (Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy).
As lightweight rowing has been discontinued as an Olympic discipline, Casey’s continuation as a senior coach in the Ireland system would not have been guaranteed had Maurogiovanni’s contract been renewed.
Rowing Ireland has undergone a big change at board level. New president Jane Williams has a formidable record in dispute resolution and a masters degree in psychology. She has a background in facilitating “behavioural change to enhance safety and governance” she told delegates in her statement before the AGM.