Following in Mother's footsteps was always a goal for Cormac Dalton

'I always idolised the American system and loved watching the NCAA Cross Country, one of my favourite races to watch.'

FAMILIAR PATH: Athlete Cormac Dalton pictured at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry, Dublin, ahead of the 2023 European Cross Country Championships. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

When Mullingar’s Cormac Dalton set off for the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma two years ago, it had been 40 years since his mother, Amanda Nolan, followed a similar path. 

Nolan enrolled at the University of Arkansas in 1981 but her running career faltered in the NCAA system due to injury.