800m record holder David Matthews helps Cork hurling team reach All-Ireland final

As many of you will know, the Cork hurling team beat Dublin last Sunday and now go forward to the All-Ireland final in Croke Park in September, their first final appearance one since 2006. What you may not know is that there is an athletics connection to this story.

Back in September 2011, the new Cork hurling manager read an interview in the Irish Times in which David Matthews, a double Olympian and the current 800m record holder stated that he thought the perfect level of fitness for a modern Gaelic footballer was that of an 800 metre runner. From that began a sequence of events which would see David Matthews being involved with athletic training of the Cork hurling team and their subsequent success.

In an interview on the GAA website, Brian Murphy interviews David Matthews about his involvement with the Cork team and how he used his experience to help the Cork team reach peak fitness at a certain time. You can read the interview HERE

Cork City Community Radio interview with Irish 800m record holder David Matthews...

In an recent interview, the Sporting Cork programme on Cork City Community Radio had a 26 minute interview with former Irish international athlete David Matthews. Having taken part in two Olympic Games, David Matthews also holds the 800m Irish record of 1:44.82 and is currently the only Irish man ever to run faster than 1:45.

In the interview, David talks about his job as a fitness instructor with the Irish Olympic Handball team and the Cork hurling team. In the athletics section of the interview which starts at 14:00, David talks about his career as an athlete and the state of Irish athletics at present.

He is also a frequent panelist on RTE for athletics events and has his own coaching website here... http://www.davidmatthews.ie