Derval O'Rourke on Ireland's Fittest Family exit, life at the Olympics and medal hopes in Paris

The three time Olympian opened up about distractions ahead of a big event, not having social media in the prime of her career and working alongside Sonia O'Sullivan and Rob Heffernan

Derval O'Rourke has opened up about her departure from Ireland's Fittest Family, saying she chats to former presenter Mairead Ronan, who also left the show, every week.

The sporting legend also recalled her time competing at three Olympic games as Ireland's team swing into action this weekend.

Read more: Rob Heffernan was gutted to be let go from Red FM: 'I've absolutely no regrets'

Read more: Derval O'Rourke admits being away from son Archie was tough because she can't explain she has to work

Derval told RSVP Live: "I miss the flat whites and the chats on Ireland's Fittest Family. We used to have lots of flat whites and we had lots of gossip.

"I am definitely not getting the same level of gossip from the crew as I was getting before I stepped away. Mairead Ronan and I stepped away from the show at the same time.

"Being on Ireland’s Fittest Family is like being in a gang at school.

"It is like Mairead and I have moved to a new school. Mairead and I chat at least once a week, if not twice a week."

There is more attention that ever on Ireland's atheltics team at the Olympics thanks to their recent incredible showing the European Championships.

Derval said: "There is a huge amount of excitement and anticipation and that is quite led by Rhasidat. Since the Tokyo Olympics her star has started to rise.

"A lot of us thought that was going to be the case because she is such a talent. Without a doubt, she is a generational talent.

"She is going into these games with a genuine chance of making a podium as an individual. That is phenomenal for her. She has gone from not making the relay team as a teenager to now having a chance at gold at age 21.

"There is great excitement around the relay team too. Ciara Mageean is a European champion and there will be a lot of expectation around her."

She added: "Back with Sonia and maybe with me, there was one person the media and the public were concentrating on. Now, as a collective, the team is going in at a really high level and that is so positive for sport."

The Olympics and sport in general are very different to when Derval competed in Athens, Beijing and London, especially because there was a lot of attention on her specifically as an athlete.

She said: "I found the noise distracting. This generation of athletes have it very different to the way we had it 10 or 15 years ago.

"They are the first social media generation and they love noise, they love attention and they love content. Previously, that was seen as a distraction, but now social media is a place they can own and they are more in tune with their own brand.

"If the athletes have something to say they can take to their own social media to say it. We would have had press conferences before.

"They live in the spotlight day to day, but they can also control it. They have been slicker and they know that how you represent yourself has become part of the job."

Derval would have liked to have had social media and more supports.

She said: "But I am also in my 40s now and I am much wiser than I was years ago. Back then, I am not sure if I would have found it hard.

"The supports are also better now, they all get support around social media and the psychological support is better than it was.

"It is hard to know what I would have liked because the structures and supports weren’t there when I was competing 15 years ago, but they are there now."

Derval is predicting that Ireland will win seven medals in Paris.

She said: "I am going to be ambitious about this. I think we will get seven medals across the sports. Athletics wise, we will get two out of those seven."

The Cork woman added: "We are a small island nation. We have a bit of investment in sport, but it is not at the level we would like to see. Access to indoor facilities is still a huge challenge in athletics. For me, we are punching above our weight."

Derval is back on RTÉ alongside Sonia O'Sullivan and Rob Heffernan. The trio got huge praise for their punditry during the European Championships earlier this summer.

She said "When I was growing up Sonia was one of my idols and Rob is a really good friend of mine. We have been on these athletics journeys together.

"He went to the boys' part of my girls’ school growing up in Cork. Our lives have been very knitted together. I love being on a panel with the two of them.

"I have huge respect for what they have achieved, but I don’t necessarily agree with all of their opinions. I have no problem telling them that and they have no problem disagreeing with me.

"As a panel we work well because we genuinely forget that the cameras are there. It is very enjoyable and it is very natural. There is no playing up to the camera."

Flogas has partnered with Olympians Derval O’Rourke, David Gillick and Rob Heffernan as the official sponsor of their ‘Medals & Mics’ podcast. From winning World and European titles to competing at 9 Olympic Games to then creating new lives outside of sport, this podcast series discusses the lessons learnt and how they can be applied to everyday life, special guests will include Sonia O’Sullivan, Annalise Murphy, Gary O’Donovan and more. Medals & Mics is available on all major streaming platforms and YouTube.

With Olympic season in full swing premium Irish activewear brand, New Dimensions Active, is thrilled to announce the launch of its first exclusive edit with Olympian, Derval O'Rourke.

Join RSVP Live's WhatsApp community to get celebrity news and our top stories