Marcus O’Sullivan And The Unlikely Path To Athletic Greatness

An Irishman Abroad

Jarlath Regan

Society & Culture, News, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture:personal Journals, Personal Journals, Politics

4.8 • 834 Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2021

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What is the X factor? When everyone competing in an activity has talent, what is the extra bit that takes one person above and beyond? Irish athletics legend Marcus O'Sullivan might be one of the best qualified people in the world to unravel this. For almost a quarter of a century he has been the head track and field coach at Villanova University and in charge of spotting talented kids who might just have that extra something. He sits down with Jarlath to discuss his own incredible journey from making sails in Kinsale to electrifying the crowds at Madison Square Garden with his infamous final kick. Marcus discusses the importance of getting comfortable with failure, the philosophy of cheating, technological advances in athletics, the impact Donie Walsh's mentorship had on him, the Irish running boom and of course, his most astonishing achievement - 101 sub 4 minute mile races. This is a one of a kind in-depth conversation with one of the true unsung heroes and early influencers of Irish sport. To hear every episode in full and to gain access to the entire back-catalogue of over 500 Irishman Abroad episodes that are not available on iTunes for just the price of a pint every month visit www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad Supplementary research provided by John Meagher. Our charity partner is jigsawonline.ie. In these tricky times, Jigsaw provides a range of resources, advice and care for your people to help them strengthen their mental health and the skills needed to navigate life. Please visit their website and consider making a donation. For updates on future episodes and live shows follow @jarlath on Twitter, visit www.jigser.com or email the show directly on [email protected]. Disclaimer: All materials contained within this podcast are copyright protected. Third party reuse and/or quotation in whole or in part is prohibited unless direct credit and/or hyperlink to the Irishman Abroad podcast is clearly and accurately provided.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I had a lot of niggles. You just worked around them. I had really bad lower back problems.
0:09.0	I'd be getting ready to line up in Madison Square Gardens. I remember one time I'm getting ready to run and my lower back went out.
0:17.0	And I looked over at the sidelines and I saw Jerry O'Reilly and I said Jerry I came up
0:22.0	I said I don't know what to do my my back is out so I got off the track Jerry did one of those
0:27.4	I wouldn't be I wouldn't be recommending this at home but he did one of these bear hugs where he
0:32.6	kind of lifted me off the ground if you come from behind you you grab somebody in the beer hugging
0:36.7	a kind of a hymlich maneuver but gave me a bit of a jolt hopefully to reset off the ground. If you come from behind, you grab somebody in the beer hog.
0:40.1	A kind of a heimlich maneuver, but gave me a bit of a jolt.
0:42.1	Hopefully to reset the back.
0:44.0	And I ended up getting back on the track. And the race went off, and I was somehow, I was fine, you know.
0:50.0	Marcus O'Sullivan is one of the most decorated Irish athletes of all time.
0:55.1	Multiple Olympic Games, world indoor goals, want to make her Miles to beat the band.
1:00.9	A world record that still stands to this day.
1:03.6	And that's before we even talk about the consistency.
1:07.4	An AP McCoy level of consistency over an AP McCoy level of years of production.
1:15.5	I mean, 100 sub four minute mile races.
1:20.1	Just like McCoy and his numbers as a jockey, we may never see that.
1:24.8	We won't see that ever again on the track.
1:28.3	Today he is the head track and field coach at his alma mater of Villanova University in Philadelphia.
1:34.3	A job he's held for almost 25 years, a job he was reluctant to take, as he'll hear,
1:39.7	and a job that he struggled with in the early goings, despite winning a national championship in the first season in charge.
1:46.0	It is all so hard to believe, including that he wasn't this star athlete.
	...

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