Gary O’Hanlon: A talent finally in bloom

On Sunday, Gary O’Hanlon will line up at the London Marathon behind the world’s best: Eliud Kipchoge, Kenenisa Bekele and Mo Farah, rock stars of a sport he once thought had abandoned him, but in which, with each passing year, he’s flourishing ever more, writes Cathal Dennehy

In many ways, it doesn’t make sense. At the age of 43, Gary O’Hanlon shouldn’t be running faster than ever, shouldn’t be Irish marathon champion, and nor should he be able to say — at least with a straight face — that his best years are ahead.

But in other ways it makes perfect sense, and to understand why you have to rewind 26 years, back to the day that splits his story into two contrasting chapters — before and after the accident that nearly took his life, and for a long time left it in ruins.