IAAF article on Cork athlete Ciarán Ó Lionáird

The IAAF had an article in their online magazine recently about Irish international Ciarán Ó Lionáird from Cork.

Here's a little excerpt...

"When we arrived at the track it was set in the middle of some cornfields," says Ó Lionáird. "It had a rickety old grandstand with a pub on the corner of the track. It was like a throwback. “I remember the perfect weather: 18-20°C and no wind. I went through the first lap in 59 seconds and was dead last. Then I ran the middle two laps in 1:51 or 1:52. I remember running the 600m to 400m section super-fast and passing about six guys. 

 "The race was run in almost total silence. I hit the bell in 2:37 right on the shoulder of the leader and finished second [behind the Ethiopian Dawit Wolde]. I remember crossing the line, looking at the time and thinking: did that just really happen? 

"Nate, who had finished just behind me, said, ‘man, you’ve just changed your life.’ It was only when the news filtered through to Ireland and I got messages on my phone that I realised what had happened. It was amazing.” 

 Ó Lionáird had set a new personal best of 3:34.46, hacking an incredible six seconds from his previous record to qualify for for the Daegu 2011 World Championships.

The full article can be seen HERE