Luke McCann now believes he belongs

MAKING STRIDES: ‘I want to not just be an Olympian, but someone who can compete,’ says Luke McCann, who has the Paris Olympics firmly in his sights

There was a time Luke McCann would just be happy to be there – pitched in with the elite of athletics, feeling like a chump who’d gate-crashed a parade of champions. It was in May last year, and the UCD student was in Ostrava, Czech Republic, for his first ever Continental Tour Gold meeting.

Mondo Duplantis; Joshua Cheptegei; Sha’Carri Richardson – the celebs of his sport were all around, and as McCann toed the line over 1500m, taking on a two-time world medallist in Marcin Lewandowski, he was far from confident.

“I was s**tting myself,” he says.

McCann had never broken 3:40, but he smashed that in Ostrava with his 3:37.77, a PB he lowered to 3:36.81 the following week. It left him just shy of qualification for the Tokyo Olympics, but given his trajectory, most expected him to kick on in 2022 and earn a spot at the World Championships in Oregon. With the qualification window closing tomorrow night, the 24-year-old has done exactly that.

Well, he has and he hasn’t.

McCann is 41st on the Road to Oregon 1500m rankings and, with 45 spots on offer, he’ll get an invite in the days ahead from World Athletics. That invite, however, will likely be rejected by Athletics Ireland, which set a higher bar for qualification, meaning McCann had to hit their B-standard of 3:36.50.

His best this year? The 3:36.93 he ran on a cold, wet day in Eugene last month. Long story short, it means McCann – despite having earned an invite – will likely watch the biggest event of the year on TV.

“It is just frustrating,” he says.

The selection criteria was clear since November, so there’s no surprise in all this – the extra layer of difficulty likely coming down to Athletics Ireland trying to save on costs or else a belief that he won’t be competitive. If it’s the former, well, McCann would gladly pay his own way if allowed. If it’s the latter, then the 3:53 indoor mile he ran to finish third against an elite field in New York in February showed he’s at home in such company.

The world-class ranks are something he’s now used to, though it took some time.

At the European Indoors in Poland last year, McCann couldn’t resist striking up a chat with Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen, McCann asking the now-Olympic champion how he makes it look so easy, Ingebrigtsen responding “because it is easy”.

In March, they were again drawn together at the World Indoors in Belgrade, McCann walking out for his heat between Ingebrigtsen and USA’s Josh Thompson. “I feel like Conor McGregor walking out at Madison Square Garden,” he said to them, and with that Thompson mimicked McGregor’s strut, as did McCann, with Ingebrigtsen laughing at them before also joining in.

Minutes later, though, McCann realised how ruthless it can be at major championships. He finished seventh and last in his heat in 3:44.03, walking into the mixed zone filled with rage.

“I felt I embarrassed the Irish singlet,” he says now. “In the past I’ve been angry watching people run for Ireland, at how they run, almost like they qualified and they’re happy with that. I felt people might have looked at that and thought the same of me. But it wasn’t as bad a run as I thought at the time.” 

McCann is 24 now – not exactly young for a 1500m runner – but his training age remains that of a newcomer. He’d run on and off since the age of 12, but it was only in college that he took it seriously, with his dad, Clark, coaching him since.

They’ve had a joint education over the past year about how things work at the sport’s upper end, with Clark acting as his agent for a long time, calling up meet directors and hoping for a spot in their events. But that’s no longer an issue, with McCann now represented by Paul Doyle, an American who is married to Irish Olympian Karen Shinkins – the link between them set up by Derval O’Rourke.

“We didn’t think we’d ever be with someone as influential as him,” says Luke. “He’s one of the best agents in the world.” 

After his 3:53 indoor mile in February, Doyle contacted several brands about getting McCann a deal, with On Athletics Club Europe offering a professional contract. McCann will move to their base in Leipzig, Germany, in October to train alongside elites like Britain’s George Mills under coach Thomas Dreissigacker.

From his first conversation with the On team, he was blown away. “We got off the call and were like, ‘wow.’ I was ready to sign the deal there and then. They have this vision that we can all push to compete for medals. I feel with any other company it’s: ‘There’s your kit, go run.’ But I’m in constant contact with them and they’re always checking up with anything I need. It makes me feel like Eliud Kipchoge. I didn’t think I’d ever get a deal like this.” 

In May, McCann turned in some shaky early-season performances as he juggled exams for his master’s in mechanical engineering, but with just his thesis left to complete next year he can now make running his chief focus.

“I am a professional athlete now so there’s no excuse not to qualify for championships. My job is to qualify and perform.” 

And if he’s not going to the World Championships, he can at least give the Europeans in August his full focus. “There’s no reason I can’t be in that final,” he says.

McCann will start favourite for tomorrow’s national 1500m final in Santry given the absence of Andrew Coscoran, who in recent years has helped put the Irish vest back on the global stage over 1500m.

“I do think me or Andrew could get (Ray Flynn’s national record of 3:33.5). It helps we’re pushing each other: 3:36 isn’t good enough anymore, you need to be running 3:34, and then 3:33 is there for us.” The ultimate goal is still two years away, and McCann has a professional pathway laid out to get to the Paris Olympics in the best shape possible. “I want to not just be an Olympian, but someone who can compete,” he says.

And that do-I-belong-here phase? It’s long gone.

“I’m just not fazed anymore,” he says. “I’m learning not to have too much respect, that I can compete with these guys. I can beat them.”