Saturday with David Gillick: 'My daughter runs around the garden saying she’s Rhasidat'

Olympian, pundit and podcaster David Gillick talks about a Saturday spent amid the frenzy of the Olympic Games

Olympian, pundit and podcaster David Gillick.

07.00

I’ll be up at 7am to get a run in. 

The first thing I do is check my phone. 

I usually won’t have breakfast. 

I’ll get out of the house and run for at least an hour around the local area.

08.00

I’ll get home and it’s breakfast with the family, shower, and then out the door again because the kids have various places to be.

10.00

It’s divide and conquer later in the morning with my wife Charlotte. 

I’ll generally take Oscar, 8, to training because I coach his team and my wife will take our daughter Olivia, 6, to GAA with Louis, 3, in tow.

12.00

We’ll all come home for lunch, which is usually scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages.

14.00

After lunch there’ll be a bit of downtime, we’ll do shopping, cut the grass, or whatever needs to be done.

Often there is a party or a playdate for one of the kids too. 

I’m essentially a freelancer so sometimes I’ll have to work on a Saturday. Right now it’s all geared towards the Olympics.

David Gillick with fellow podcasters Derval O'Rourke and Rob Heffernan. Picture: Larry Cummins

I’m really enjoying working on the Medals and Mics podcast with Derval [O’Rourke] and Rob [Heffernan] — it’s been great to chat with two friends and to share insights into what it’s like to be an athlete preparing for the Olympic Games.

It can be tricky enough — I’m off to Paris for three weeks to do commentary for RTÉ so Charlotte will have to manage the kids, and I won’t see them for a few weeks, but it is a privilege to be that close to the action. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Obviously, I’m biased towards athletics.

I think Rhasidat Adeleke is a super star. My daughter Olivia runs around the garden saying she’s Rhasidat — all sports need heroes.

Rome was great too. Ciara Mageean winning the 1,500m at the European Championships. Hopefully, they can take all this forward to the Olympics.

16.00

Louis will have a nap and I’ll take Olivia to football. Oscar will come with me and kick a ball on the sidelines with some friends.

By the time we get home, everyone’s wrecked — that’s when I put my feet up with a cup of tea, the kids will potter around and maybe get a little bit of screen time. 

I like to think that I’m not a pushy parent, but I do want to give my kids the opportunities I had.

The fact that myself and my wife are active I think is a case of “monkey see, monkey do”.

We try to get them outside as often as we can. We are lucky to have a lot of green space around us — Marlay Park, Ticknock, Three Rock.

Anything you can do with your kids can be meaningful and fun, whether it’s kicking a football or going for a cycle. Even 10 minutes on the local green can be a start.

At the moment, I’m trying to make the most of the fact that the kids actually want to be with me. It’s hard, you’re tired, but the kids want to play so that’s what we do.

I feel that it’s when they’re in the house that they want all the technology. We try to put boundaries around it. 

Oscar got a Nintendo Switch for his birthday, but he’s not allowed on it during the week. He’s the eldest and the other two are looking at him all the time to see what he’s allowed to do.

18.00

We’ll often get a takeout on a Saturday — sushi from Musashi or a curry from Thindi.

If I haven’t been for a run in the morning I might go that evening or Charlotte might. I used to be a real stickler for routine, but since becoming a parent I’ve learned that I have to be more flexible.

I do drink but not on a regular basis. If we have friends over on a Saturday night it might be a couple of beers.

Nights out are rare now and I don’t miss them. I prefer waking up on a Sunday morning with a clear head.

The kids will go to bed between 8pm-9pm, and then we will chill out for a couple of hours. Saturday is really busy, so the kids tend to sleep well.

It’s a movie or Netflix, but I’ll be falling asleep on the couch by 10.30pm — seriously no craic! We love to watch a thriller or a good drama. The last thing we watched was Sprint on Netflix.

I’ll go straight to sleep, I don’t need podcasts or whale noises. I love my sleep and thankfully our kids have all been good sleepers. We’ll be up at around 7am again the next day.

• Olympian, pundit and podcaster David Gillick’s podcast ‘Medals and Mics’ with Derval O’Rourke and Rob Heffernan is available to stream on all major platforms and on YouTube. The podcast is sponsored by Flogas, the official energy partner of Team Ireland. 
• flogas.ie