O’Connell still the guiding force of legends

The last time most of us saw or heard of David Rudisha and Brother Colm O’Connell, the young Kenyan was stunning the world at the London Games and the Irish missionary was looking on back in Kenya, oblivious to the plaudits being showered his way.

Yesterday, the 800m Olympic champion turned up in Dublin with the Corkman whose name has become synonymous with Kenyan track success after over 30 years coaching out of St Patrick’s College in Iten in the Rift Valley.

O’Connell has been working with the Masai 23-year-old since he was a boy but it is rare, if ever, that the pair have found themselves keeping one another company beyond their African base given the 63-year has never attended a major championships.