Ronnie Delany

The Olympics have started and as we enjoy the performances of the athletes in the pool, gymnasium and basketball courts the clock is counting down to the start of the athletics races. The fastest men and women on the planet will meet to test themselves and to leave a legacy as an Olympic champion. One such legend I recently had the pleasure of meeting is Ronnie Delany, Ireland’s Olympic 1500m gold medallist in Melbourne in 1956.

The journey to Melbourne began many years before for Ronnie in Sandymount, Dublin when as a youngster Ronnie spent much of his time playing many sports. The more sports Ronnie played as a child, tennis, cricket and a bit of rugby built the base of a large pyramid before Ronnie realised he was gifted with a talent for running. Ireland in the 1950’s was a poor country, were almost 500,000 people emigrated in the years from 1950-1960 seeking jobs and looking to a new life.

The turning point happened for Ronnie when he became the first Irish schoolboy to break the two minute barrier for an 800m. He knew then that he wanted to be a great athlete and no one, and no circumstance, was going to deter him. From this moment on Ronnie took control of his own life and all of his future decisions were made with the foremost goal of furthering his athletics career. It was difficult for Ronnie to share his dream with anyone back then, as it seemed unlikely and as an amateur athlete no one in Ireland really for a specific sport. Inspired by Emil Zatopek of Czechoslovakia and Roger Bannister Ronnie started to read extensively about a new technique in running called “interval training”. Ronnie changed his running training to incorporate interval training and as a cadet in the Irish Army he thought the job would complement his training. Realising that the two would not work, Ronnie abandoned the offer as an officer in the Irish Army as it was interfering with his training. Ronnie displayed his single-mindedness and determination to follow his dream.

His decision and self-belief was justified when following success in a number of races Ron was offered a scholarship to America, to the University of Villanova. Guided by his mentor at the university, Jumbo Elliott, Ronnie Delany was groomed as a man aswell as an athlete. Surrounded by tremendous athletes intent on achieving greatness Ronnie continually revised his goals as he kept surpassing them. The team spirit and immense commitment to training at Villanova was not confined to running. Ronnie frequently demonstrated his enormous upper body strength in bench pressing, chin ups and press ups workouts.

Ronnie’s status as an exceptional athlete was reaching legendary status in America but because of a lack of media attention in the 1950’s his successes never received the attention his hard and intelligent training deserved in Ireland. He will always be remembered in Ireland for achieving Olympic success in 1956 Olympics in Ireland. This was the culmination of his previous efforts becoming the 7th man ever to break the magic 4 minute mile in 1956 and reigning supreme during an unprecedented and unsurpassed 40 straight victories “indoors” in America from 1956 to 1959 including 33 mile races.

His legacy in America provided an inspiration for future athletes like Marcus O’Sullivan and Sonia O’Sullivan to follow in his footsteps to Villanova. As professionalism in sport changes the face in sport Ronnie feels than many athletes and weekend warriors are over-training. At the peak of his powers Ronnie was averaging 50 miles a week in training. When he ran he felt he was floating as he had perfected his tempo running during his interval runs. He never ran to exhaustion during his training.

Ronnie Delany is 73, and his enthusiasm for sports is still evident as he still swims, plays golf and enjoys a game of tennis.  The keys to Ronnie’s success are his consistency, intelligent hard work and his un-wavering self belief. Even today, Ronnie recommends eating clean good food, omega 3’s for flexibility in the joints and getting a good nights sleep. Maintaining his flexibility through stretching and maintaining his strength are key components of his ability to maintain a health lifestyle as he has the time to review his successes and Ireland’s current athletes. A firm admirer of Padraig Harringtons self belief and achievements, it is an acknowledgement of one Irish great to another and anyone can learn a winner’s characteristics by reading Ronnie’s auto-biography “Staying the Distance”. Ronnie has lived all his life in the fast lane but he maintains the time for his health and his family. Success leaves clues, and so if you want a life of greatness, learn from those who have walked the path before you.

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