John Treacy
Encyclopedia
John Treacy is a former Irish athlete and Olympic medalist, who represented Ireland at four Olympic Games between 1980 and 1992.
, Co. Waterford, famously running the 12 km to school every morning, and later graduated from Providence College
. In 1978
and 1979
he won the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
in Glasgow
and Limerick
respectively.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles he won a silver medal in the marathon, placing Ireland 33rd on the medals table
.
Treacy was known as a tenacious runner who did not have a particularly sharp final kick in the track races. He did occasionally suffer also from bad luck, however. In the 1978 European Athletics Championships in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, he placed 11th in the fast 10,000-metre race and fourth in the slow and tactical 5,000-metre race, losing to the winner, Italy's Venanzio Ortis, by just three tenths of a second. In the 5,000-metre final, he may have lost the chance of a medal by lingering behind Great Britain's Nick Rose
on the final back straight, just after Rose had dropped from the lead group.
In the 1980 Moscow Olympics, he collapsed in his 10,000-metre heat with over 200 metres left, a victim of heat paralysis and dehydration. Because Treacy was running in fourth place when he collapsed and because only the top four runners qualified directly for the final from the three heats, his collapse helped Finland's famous four-time Olympic champion Lasse Virén
to qualify directly for the final. Having recovered from his heat-induced collapse, Treacy placed seventh in the 5,000-metre final of those Olympics.
In the 1983 World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Treacy was eliminated in the 10,000-metre heats.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he first placed ninth in the 10,000-metre final before crowning his athletics career with the silver medal won in the men's marathon. Carlos Lopes
of Portugal was largely unchallenged for much of the race, with Treacy down the field until entering the top six around the 20-kilometre mark. The Irish athlete continued to work his way up the rankings until entering the LA Coliseum stadium just behind second-placed British athlete Charlie Spedding
. Treacy overtook Spedding with 150m to go, and the Irish television commentary of Jimmy Magee
went down in history, listing the previous Irish Olympic medal winners up to that time, before culminating: "And for the 13th time, an Olympic medal goes to John Treacy from Villierstown in Waterford, the little man with the big heart."
After the Los Angeles Olympics, Treacy still ran competitively until 1995, retiring following a road race held in his honour in Waterford, attended by the other two medalists from the 1984 Olympic marathon, Carlos Lopes
and Charlie Spedding
. While he did not win any more major international championships medals, Treacy did win the 1992 Los Angeles Marathon. In the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, then West Germany, he placed sixth in the 10,000-metre race. In the 1987 World Athletics Championships in Rome, he placed twenty-sixth in the 10,000-metre race and thirteenth in the 5,000-metre final.
He is currently chief executive of the Irish Sports Council
. He is married to Fionnuala and they have four children, Caoimhe and Deirdre, Sean and Conor.
Career
Treacy attended St Anne's Post-Primary School in CappoquinCappoquin
Cappoquin, also spelt Cappaquin or Capaquin , is a small town in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is on the Blackwater river at the junction of the N72 national secondary road and the R669 regional road. It is positioned on a sharp 90 degree bend in the river and nestles at the foot of the...
, Co. Waterford, famously running the 12 km to school every morning, and later graduated from Providence College
Providence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
. In 1978
1978 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 6th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 26, 1978 in Glasgow, Scotland.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
and 1979
1979 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 7th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 25, 1979 in Limerick, Ireland.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :**...
he won the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
respectively.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
in Los Angeles he won a silver medal in the marathon, placing Ireland 33rd on the medals table
1984 Summer Olympics medal count
This is the full table of the medal table of the 1984 Summer Olympics. They took place in Los Angeles, California, USA. These rankings sort by the number of gold medals earned by a country. The number of silvers is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze. If, after the above,...
.
Treacy was known as a tenacious runner who did not have a particularly sharp final kick in the track races. He did occasionally suffer also from bad luck, however. In the 1978 European Athletics Championships in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, he placed 11th in the fast 10,000-metre race and fourth in the slow and tactical 5,000-metre race, losing to the winner, Italy's Venanzio Ortis, by just three tenths of a second. In the 5,000-metre final, he may have lost the chance of a medal by lingering behind Great Britain's Nick Rose
Nick Rose
Nicholas Henry Rose is a former British international track and field athlete. He competed in a variety of middle distance and long distance track events. He is the current European record holder in the 10 kilometre road race, and British record holder in the 4×1 mile relay event. He...
on the final back straight, just after Rose had dropped from the lead group.
In the 1980 Moscow Olympics, he collapsed in his 10,000-metre heat with over 200 metres left, a victim of heat paralysis and dehydration. Because Treacy was running in fourth place when he collapsed and because only the top four runners qualified directly for the final from the three heats, his collapse helped Finland's famous four-time Olympic champion Lasse Virén
Lasse Virén
Lasse Artturi Virén is a former Finnish long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics...
to qualify directly for the final. Having recovered from his heat-induced collapse, Treacy placed seventh in the 5,000-metre final of those Olympics.
In the 1983 World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Treacy was eliminated in the 10,000-metre heats.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he first placed ninth in the 10,000-metre final before crowning his athletics career with the silver medal won in the men's marathon. Carlos Lopes
Carlos Lopes
Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH, is a former Portuguese long-distance athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles. He brought home Portugal's first ever Olympic gold medal along with a new Olympic record - 2:09.21.Born in Vildemoinhos, near Viseu, Portugal,...
of Portugal was largely unchallenged for much of the race, with Treacy down the field until entering the top six around the 20-kilometre mark. The Irish athlete continued to work his way up the rankings until entering the LA Coliseum stadium just behind second-placed British athlete Charlie Spedding
Charlie Spedding
Charles Spedding is an English former long-distance runner. He was fourth in the 10,000m at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and was England’s Amateur Athletic Association 10,000m champion in 1983 in a time of 28:08.12...
. Treacy overtook Spedding with 150m to go, and the Irish television commentary of Jimmy Magee
Jimmy Magee
Jimmy Magee is a longstanding Irish sports broadcaster. Known as 'the Memory Man', he has spent over half a century in sports broadcasting...
went down in history, listing the previous Irish Olympic medal winners up to that time, before culminating: "And for the 13th time, an Olympic medal goes to John Treacy from Villierstown in Waterford, the little man with the big heart."
After the Los Angeles Olympics, Treacy still ran competitively until 1995, retiring following a road race held in his honour in Waterford, attended by the other two medalists from the 1984 Olympic marathon, Carlos Lopes
Carlos Lopes
Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH, is a former Portuguese long-distance athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles. He brought home Portugal's first ever Olympic gold medal along with a new Olympic record - 2:09.21.Born in Vildemoinhos, near Viseu, Portugal,...
and Charlie Spedding
Charlie Spedding
Charles Spedding is an English former long-distance runner. He was fourth in the 10,000m at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and was England’s Amateur Athletic Association 10,000m champion in 1983 in a time of 28:08.12...
. While he did not win any more major international championships medals, Treacy did win the 1992 Los Angeles Marathon. In the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, then West Germany, he placed sixth in the 10,000-metre race. In the 1987 World Athletics Championships in Rome, he placed twenty-sixth in the 10,000-metre race and thirteenth in the 5,000-metre final.
He is currently chief executive of the Irish Sports Council
Irish Sports Council
The Irish Sports Council or ISC is the organisation which directs the development of sport within the Ireland.The ISC is a statutory authority and was established in July 1999 under powers provided by the Irish Sports Council Act...
. He is married to Fionnuala and they have four children, Caoimhe and Deirdre, Sean and Conor.
Achievements
| Representing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Olympic Games Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, 41 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 17 by women. There were a total number of 1273 participating athletes from 124 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:... |
Los Angeles, United States Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
2nd | Marathon | 2:09:56 |
| 1988 | Olympic Games Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul a total number of 42 events in athletics were contested: 24 by men and 18 by women. There were a total number of 1617 participating athletes from 149 countries.-Men's events:... |
Seoul, South Korea | — | Marathon | DNF |
| 1992 | Los Angeles Marathon Los Angeles Marathon The Honda LA Marathon is an annual running event held each spring in Los Angeles, California. The 26.219 mile footrace, inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, has been contested every year since 1986... |
Los Angeles, United States Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
1st | Marathon | 2:12:29 |
| Olympic Games Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, 43 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 19 by women. The competition ran from July 31, 1992 to August 9, 1992. Fourteen world record-holders were among the contenders... |
Barcelona, Spain | 51st | Marathon | 2:24:11 | |
External links
- Biographical article
- John Treacy interview
- http://archives.tcm.ie/waterfordnews/2001/11/16/story7567.aspWaterford News & StarThe Waterford News & StarThe Waterford News & Star is a local newspaper based in Waterford City.In December 2007 it changed from broadsheet to tabloid format, but only to make it easier to read, it still retains the quality of a broadsheet. The Waterford News & Star recently moved from their offices in Michael Street,...
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