All of the appointments will play an "integral role" in supporting athletes during next year's Olympic Games, it is claimed.

They will work under Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission Tricia Heberle and Olympic Games head of performance Phil Moore to "deliver an integrated performance support system to Irish athletes and staff to enable them to perform to their full potential at next year's Games".

Those filling the roles have been chosen after a "rigorous and competitive" selection process, the OFI said.

Eamonn Flanagan will take charge of strength and conditioning, with Dr Sharon Madigan looking after performance nutrition.

Declan Gamble will take on the role for performance physiology, with Dr Kate Kirby in charge of performance psychology and Eoin Rheinisch heading up Olympic transition support.

Sports medicine has been assigned to Dr Jim O'Donovan and sports physiotherapy has been placed in the hands of Sarah Jane McDonnell.

"I am very excited about the calibre and experience of our Team Ireland performance support leads," Heberle said.

"Tokyo 2020, like every Olympic Games, will present challenges and a range of considerations that we need to embrace and effectively prepare for. 

"The support and expertise of these highly experienced practitioners and leaders in their fields will be invaluable to myself, our athletes and staff across Olympic qualification and at the Games.

"Many of our leads are already working with sports that will qualify for the Games and so our aim is to ensure a balance of continuity of support while also providing leadership and direction to a network of practitioners at the Sport Ireland and Sport NI Institutes, and in National Federations."

Moore added: "The appointment of the performance support leads for the Tokyo Olympics is a significant milestone in the development of a world class high-performance system in Ireland. 

"The robust and transparent recruitment process ensures continuity of support for our athletes through the full Olympic cycle, delivered by a highly experienced team of science and medical practitioners working closely with performance directors and coaches. 

"I look forward to working with this team and with the Team Ireland Chef de Mission Tricia Heberle to support our athletes and coaches in the preparation for Tokyo 2020."