In this instalment of our Women in Sport series, we hear from Anne Marie O’Toole on her sporting inspirations, biggest goals, and proudest achievements.
Connemara raised and living in the French Beajolais region, Anne Marie O’Toole is an endurance athlete who has completed a number of IRONMANS over the years. Here, she shares her sporting journey so far…
Name: Anne Marie O’Toole
Profession: Global Head of Marketing, Kingspan Group
Earliest sporting memory?
Playing hurling with our local boys team when I was six or seven (we didn’t have enough girls at the time for our own team!).
How did you become involved in your sport?
I got into triathlon in my early twenties when a friend of mine said he wanted to do an Ironman. I had spent my childhood and teens horseriding, so I had zero swim or cycle experience, but I had started running when I moved to France after university. So, I thought why not give triathlon a try!
What message would you like to share with young women and girls interested in becoming an athlete?
You belong, and in every aspect of life there are challenges for women, and sport is no different. Try to find people around you that will support you, people who want to see you succeed and will be there to tell you to keep going, even when it’s not easy.
Proudest moment so far…
I can honestly say that everytime I cross a finishline, I’m proud of what I have achieved. Even if it wasnt what I was hoping for in terms of performance or result, there is always a story behind the journey to get there in the first place. My proudest moment was probably when my daughters both did their first mini trail run and loved it. It was at a race my husband was running in, and so I did the kids race with my daughters and couldn’t keep up with my eight year old!
The female athlete I admire most is…
Sophie Power, someone I only recently became aware of when she recently set the Guinness World Record for the fastest crossing of Ireland on foot. I admire her because she advocates for women in sport through her SHErace movement, which ultimately aims to give everyone an equal opportunity to race and an equal experience when they do.
Using her profile as an athlete to raise awareness around challenges women deal with trying to train or race, I think is so important now and also for the next generation of girls and women coming into sport. Another inspirational athlete using her voice for good is Simone Biles. She is obviously a leader in many ways, but her story really just shows how strong women are.
Favourite sporting memory…
Has to be crossing the finish line on Mother’s Day with my two daughters when my youngest was about six months old. It was a short sprint distance triathlon and I really hadn’t the miles in, was still breastfeeding and hadn’t slept a full night in a few years at that stage (!), so I’m sure it wasnt all fun, but the memory is engrained.
Do you think there is still a stigma around women in sport?
For sure. I don’t think it’s necessarily specific to sport either. I am lucky to work in an environment where women are supported and sport plays a central role for many people that I work with on a daily basis. The same goes for the clubs I am part of in France, generally it’s a mutual respect.
However, the triathlon league here has introduced a ‘Mixity officer’ to ensure that in clubs the needs of members are met, specifically women’s needs for racing. Simple things like having women-specific gear in our club colours instead of unisex kit is only coming into play for 2025. Things are changing for women in sport but for those of us with a voice, we need to be brave enough to speak up and show leadership.
What is the biggest barrier to driving visibility in women’s sports?
I think by nature, women tend to have a bit more ‘imposter syndrome’ even at a high level in sports and are probably less likely to feel comfortable being in the limelight. Having women athletes, as well as men, advocating for more visibility – be that in schools or on t.v or in the media – is critical. We have some amazing Irish women athletes and media like hersport.com are so important to ensuring we get more coverage and have people talking about the change that needs to happen.
The biggest stigma/misconception that exists in women’s sport is…
That we aren’t as strong/as good/as fast as men. The fact that there is a comparison is crazy in the first place. I am lucky enough to have people in my circle both professionally and personally that try to lift everyone, but are particularly open to trying to learn and understand other perspectives, which is a pretty important part of growing, both as a person and also as an athlete.
If I wasn’t an athlete I would be…
A very hard person to be around!!
My favourite pre-competition meal…
Chocolate sports cake — there is a brand here called Overstims that do gatosport chocolate cakes that are easy to eat at 4am!
My pre-competition playlist includes…
Anything that is upbeat or remixes, half the time I don’t know the words or the names of songs! Vynx dance on spotify is my go to generally!
My biggest sporting goal is…
Doing la Diagnole des fous in La Reunion Island… 175km and 10,000m2 across the island.
Sports brands I love (Irish or otherwise)…
Karitraa which is a Norweign brand (run by an ex pro lady skier), or Crazy, which is an Italian brand that does amazing gear for women.
Biggest splurge to celebrate a win…
A new Garmin watch.
How do you mind your mental health?
Sport helps me keep and set boundaries and become more aware of what is important and what is less so. There are always going to be difficulties and challenges, and knowing you are doing the right thing and being confident in your own choices is something that helps keep my head in the right place.
My three desert island beauty products are:
Avene moisturiser, Burt’s BeeS lip products, and thats it!
I need 9 hours of sleep a night because….
I like to get my sessions in early in the morning before the kids are up and i start work. I also need alot of recovery time generally, so anything less than eight hours starts to make training a bit more prone to niggles.
Confidence, to me, is…
Being comfortable doing or saying the right thing even if you know some people won’t agree with it and may go against you, but you’re willing to fight for it.
How do you get over a bad performance?
There is always a journey to get there. So while it’s hard to accept when it’s not how we wanted it to be, there is always a reason… and then I normally go and try to find my next race to show myself what i can do!
Lastly, why is sport such an integral part of community, on a club, local, national and personal level?
It brings people together to share a passion, helps you learn more about yourself and others, and makes you grow as an individual but also as part of a group.
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