Jack O'Leary: 'It doesn't matter what your sob story is. Sport goes on and people run fast'
Jack O'Leary poses for a portrait during an Athletics Ireland European Championships kit day and media at the Sport Ireland Institute in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Born to be a jockey but ended up being the horse. That's Jack O'Leary's slogan for the life he leads.
There's plenty of truth in it. His father, Eddie, is racing manager for Gigginstown House Stud, his uncle is Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, and horses have been woven through family life. As a teenager, he even rode out for Gordon Elliott before athletics won the battle for his heart and mind.
It turns out the 28-year-old is a bit of a thoroughbred himself. He heads to Birmingham this weekend for the European Athletics Championships, where he will test himself against Europe's finest in the 10,000 metres next Saturday.
It is O'Leary's first major senior track championship. He represented Ireland extensively as a junior before spending several years in the NCAA system in the United States. Returning home in 2021, however, his career stalled when he suffered a sacrum stress fracture.
"I lost funding, everything," O'Leary recalled. "It wasn't anyone's fault. I just wasn't producing performances good enough to warrant it. But you'd be crazy to say there weren't doubts the whole time about whether you'd ever make it back as a senior international athlete."
Those years have given him a perspective he hopes will serve him well when he stands on the start line at Alexander Stadium.
"I'm trying to get used to everything all over again," he said. "I ran loads of under-20 European Championships and World Championships, then I was in the NCAA system for a lot of years, which is probably why I didn't race as an under-23.
"So I have plenty of experience and, at this stage, I try not to let the moment get the better of me. I know I have a job to do - run 25 laps as fast as I can and try to put it up to the best of Europe. I'm hoping to produce some of that magic again."
The magic he refers to happened last December at the European Cross Country Championships in Portugal, where O'Leary finished fifth individually - matching the best-ever finish by an Irishman - and helped Ireland claim a historic team silver medal.
"It was the high of my life," he smiled. "It was the most incredible moment. I nearly pinch myself every day trying to remember if it was real."
Recalling the phone call afterwards with his parents, who had travelled to Canada to visit his sister, Jodie, and watched the race live in the early hours of the morning, O'Leary became emotional.
"I'm living in their apartment in Dublin, so everything I have now is because of them," he said, pausing. "The tears there...I don't often cry. I can't remember the last time I did.
"But it's probably just reflecting on how hard things have been. I'm not saying my time was harder than anyone else's, but we all pour so much into something and sport is unforgiving.
"It doesn't matter what your sob story is. Sport goes on and people run fast. That's both the beauty and the beast of sport. So it's been very difficult, but that makes the highs that much more special."
He helps out in the office at Gigginstown on a part-time basis and, in the future, envisages putting his training and racing experience to good use in an equine setting.
Meanwhile, his father, Eddie, still dispenses tactical advice through racing analogies, while uncle Michael follows his every performance.
"My dad loved seeing me front-run at the Nationals and he'll probably tell me not to give any of those lads too much respect in Birmingham," he smiled.
"Michael sends me texts after races. He's very, very clued in. His daughter, Tianna, raced for Ireland at junior level. The whole family are actually very clued in and they're buzzing to watch Birmingham."
After losing funding, O'Leary found a lifeline through Athletics Ireland's National Endurance Programme under Mark Kenneally. It enabled him to attend multiple altitude camps each year.
Now he has the set-up he wants and knows he can become a world-class athlete while being based in Ireland. It's something he is proud of.
His desire is to give back to everyone who has invested so much in him, from his family and Kenneally to those at the Sport Ireland Institute, including strength and conditioning coach Martina McCarthy, who helped build the strength his body needed to withstand the demands of elite distance running.
He shares an apartment in Dublin with fellow international Darragh McElhinney. The pair have the same coach and train together daily. At last month's National Championships, McElhinney won the 5,000m title, with O'Leary second.
"My girlfriend pointed it out," he laughed. "We went one-two in Ireland and I'm still not the fastest man at my kitchen table. The reason we live together is that world-class athletes should live together, train together and push each other every day.
"Instead of working against each other, we're working together in Ireland. The medals at Euro Cross show it's working.
"I think everyone could see it among all of us. We've all been on our own journeys and that moment, celebrating with all your friends with medals around your neck...I never envisioned in my career that I'd be standing on a European podium with an Irish team."
The longer-term ambition is clear. LA 2028 is the ultimate destination, with O'Leary considering a move towards the marathon.
"The Olympics is everything," he said. "The question after Europeans is, am I going down the marathon route? Am I going down the 10K route? When do I actually make that jump? That will be decided after these championships, really. It's all with the focus of LA being the goal.
"It would be unbelievable to be at the World Championships, but there's a chance I could be going down the marathon route, setting myself up for 2028 to give myself the best chance of being there and being a seasoned marathon runner by that stage."
Former Olympic medallist Rob Heffernan captured O'Leary's journey in a text message after Euro Cross.
"He said I'd seen the dark side of sport," O'Leary recalled. "No matter how tough Birmingham is, you've already been to a much darker place. This is the victory lap."
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