by Perri Williams
The Steeplechase is an event that continues to offer huge opportunities to Junior and Senior athletes. It is an event that is perceived to open up international opportunities and can if focused on, lead to world class capabilities. Recently, Ava O’Connor (Tullamore Harriers) has set two national u23 steeplechase records. The most recent of which is in the past week in Birmingham, where at the same location, two other Irish athletes gained the B qualification standard for the European u20s.
Here in Ireland as in the UK, there has been an increase in the number of athletes participating in steeplechase in recent years. With a marked increase in the number of athletes gaining qualification for major championships. At juvenile level, the event has become competitive. Some records are tumbling and being reset multiple times within a year, especially in the ladies’ events. However, the men’s records continue to remain somewhat elusive. What can the current crop of young Irish athletes do, to improve their times to the golden era of the 1980s?
I recently spoke to Brendan Quinn (Waterford AC) who has held the National Junior record 8:42.50 since 1979 and the senior record of 8:24.09 since 1985. Quinn along with Liam O’Brien, Kieran Stack, Joe Hartnett and Northern Ireland’s Peter McColgan regularly competed against each other. Over three decades later, all five still have the fastest times on the island. The only person getting anyway close was Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrocks) who ran 8:29.25 back in 2021, dipping in at number 5 ahead of Hartnett. Fay has since discontinued the event.
Focus on Technique all year round
“There is no reason why an Irish athlete with the proper focus and work cannot break my Irish record,” said Quinn. What exactly is required to do that? Several have tried to run fast times. This year alone three Irish male athletes have and are attempting to get the European u23 standard, none of them have yet succeeded. All running around mid-8.50s. “There needs to be a full focus on the event,” said Quinn. “Steeplechase was always my main focus, not cross-country or track running. Always Steeplechase,” he added. “Most athletes do cross-country and fail to work on steeplechase specifics during the cross-country season”. Quinn like most athletes would run Cross-Country over the winter and right from the age of 16 when he first took up the event, he would simultaneously work on technique over the winter months. “Technique is so important,” he said. “An athlete has to be as efficient as possible, be able to hurdle with both legs and at the correct elevation and angle. I worked all winter long to perfect my technique for the summer season,”. While on scholarship at providence he had the benefit of working indoors too. It was while as a freshman at providence that he broke the Irish Junior record, recording the still standing mark of 8:42.50. Peter McColgan echoes Quinn’s focus on technique. “It is one regret that I have,” said McColgan. “I did not focus enough on technique. I ran cross-country through the winter and once that was over, then the focus was on the steeple. With more focus on technique, I believe my times could have been faster,” he added.
The Kenyan’s who have six athletes in the men’s all-time world top rankings dispel the notion that technique is important. Not narratively but in action. Fast but not technically adept they still manage to record fast times and feature on the podium at major championships. “While this may work for them, amongst the general steeplechase fraternity we need the technicality,” said McColgan. McColgan points to Emma Coburn (USA) as an athlete, the young steeplechasers should emulate. Technically she is brilliant.
The importance of Strength
Strength is another aspect that steeplechasers need to work on. All the top Irish steeplechasers, male and female ran Cross-Country. Something the current younger athletes also do. While youth and the possibility of progression is still on their side. It is still useful to learn from the masters. Quinn as a freshman in providence would run 70-100 miles a week. He recorded fast times over distances that ranged from 1500m to 10,000m. McColgan had fast times from 800m to 5000m. Liam O’Brien and Joe Hartnett could be seen running plenty road races. O’Brien in particular would feature at the top of most big road races back in the 1980s. Both McColgan and Quinn alluded to the strength that O’Brien possessed. In the 1980s the main strength work was hills, cross-country and plenty racing. The strength was not necessarily gained from massive amounts of strength and conditioning. While Quinn did focus on this, McColgan did not. Nor did some of the other great steeplechasers of the day. The current leading ladies like Michelle Finn of course do. S+C has become part of the modern-day athletic psych. “I would start off my season with a decent 10km race,” said Quinn. “While at providence I would also run a range of distances. Speed as well as the strength gained from the longer runs is very important.” Having both is imperative. This is something all the steeplechasers spoken with concurred with. Quinn has a best of 3:45 over 1500, 13:42 over 5000m and 28.19 for 10km (road). McColgan has run 3:43 for 1500m and 13.47 for 5000m. Roisin McGettigan Irelands leading female and a finalist in the 2008 Olympics has a best of 9:28.29 recorded in 2007 a year before her Olympic games. This is currently the Irish senior ladies record.
Based on the notion of speed and strength how does McGettigan compare with Ava O’Connor. We are now three years out from the LA Olympic Games. At a similar period, O’Connor has recorded a one second faster Steeplechase time than McGettigan. However, McGettigan on the track has faster times over distances of 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m. This would suggest that if O’Connor can improve and juxtapose speed, strength and endurance she will be perfectly poised to emulate or even surpass the feats achieved by McGettigan. Athletes like Caoimhe Flannery, Dearbhla Allen and Alexander Joyce are on the same trajectory as O’Connor but perhaps lack the raw speed O’Connor had over 800m as a junior. All the girls are working hard on technique with the assistance of sessions by Bashir Hussain. Hussain has an MSc on Biomechanics and places a huge emphasis on technique, often holding sessions after championship races where he can get groups of athletes together. Jonas Stafford (UCD) is technically good over the barriers and with more longevity in the event has the criteria to succeed.
Why are more not doing it?
Given that many of the steeplechasers are also good cross-country runners (and let’s face it, here in Ireland we have ample talent in this discipline), why are there not more people doing the event? “Numbers,” suggested Peter McColgan “and you cannot have a fear for it”. McColgan’s own daughter Eilish McColgan made her international debut over steeplechase and save for a freak accident where she broke her foot may still have continued doing the event. “Eilish had no fear. She competed at an under-age league event one day and they needed someone to do steeplechase to get extra points. She had no problem doing it, whereas others feared it”. Despite not having training, it was an event she won. It wasn’t until a few years later aged 20 or 21 that she took up the event with a focus. “Eilish was good, I think she had the ability to go under 9 minutes and medal at majors,” said McColgan. Aged 23 she finished 14th in the World Championships in Russia. Lack of fear was something Peter McColgan himself possessed. Despite being just 5’7” and small in terms of the general steeplechase profile, he had no fear jumping barriers amongst the bigger athletes. “You can’t have as you have no time to think in a race. In any moment you could have ten athletes all wanting to jump the same barrier and you just have to get on with it”, he said.
The Numbers Game
On the notion of numbers both several people interviewed suggested that the lack of numbers in any major race in Ireland and the UK was also a deterrent. After all what good athlete wants to be getting gold medals for running solo, time after time. Back in the 1980s Quinn indicated that any race held in Ireland, you always had plenty of competition. Each athlete pushing each other to their limits. And what is more, not afraid to race each other. While numbers may have been extremely scarce in juvenile and junior events a few years back, today they are not. Domestically, the recent schools All-Ireland had good numbers. Even last week at the BMC in Birmingham, there were 19 athletes in the men’s race and 14 in the ladies, including Irish competitors. The race was targeted by both Irish and UK athletes, with Luke Gunn (UK) determined to get as many men under 9 minutes as possible. He managed 7. There were three Irish standards across both events with several personal bests.
With a plethora of distance athletes Mark Kirk (CNDR AC) might be poised to have some steeplechasers amongst his group. I spoke to Mark, who indicated “I did suggest it to several of the athletes, but none seemed to be interested”. On the other hand, Feidhlim Kelly has produced a few steeplechasers from his group. The athletes willing to give it a try. Brian Fay and Jonas Stafford for example. Joe Ryan just last year had Noah Harris attempt the Steeplechase. The interest not being there can be from a number of factors; fear, out of their comfort zone, confidence and perhaps having to so some solo sessions away from a good group. Starting the event young can definitely help. Quinn was u16 when he was introduced to the steeplechase by Donal O’Keeffe at his club De La Salle. McColgan’s introduction was jumping cardboard boxes on a makeshift Aintree course around the time of the grand national. Current athletes like Roisin Treacy, Caoimhe Flannery and Dearbhla Allen (to name but a few) have started u16 and have comfortable transitioned into the event. Some see Steeplechase as an entry into international competition. That was Eilish McColgan’s initial motive. Many good steeplechasers like Fay have dropped the event. Which is a pity. With groups of athletes training together, it can only harness progression beyond international entry.
The Irish ladies are in a much stronger position than the men. Their recent history and progression has been positive. Roisin McGettigan’s Olympic success was followed with representation in European, World and Olympic events. In 2016 at the European Steeplechase, Ireland had three athletes make the final: Michelle Finn finished 7th, Sara Treacy 9th and Kerry O’Flaherty 12th. The train of representation has continued. Michelle Finn and Roisin Flanagan competing at European’s. Finn’s most recent representation was Rome last year.
So what is happening?
So, what is happening in Irish steeplechase circles? Quiet a lot of progression in the ladies it seems. All of the top twenty times in the Irish all-time list are recorded within the past twenty years with eight of them from 2025 alone. Of the top twenty mens times, 17 relate to more than twenty years ago.
It is very easy to be judgemental and dismiss the men’s event and deduce a verdict of “not a lot”. However, that is not necessarily the case. Bubbling under the antiquity of our top performance standards, are a plethora of young Irish steeplechasers, who are both gathering in numbers and increasing the mean performance. This year we have three u23 athletes who are chasing the European standard and as many more u20 athletes. While none of them are yet qualified and it is unlikely that any of them will reach the level that Brendan Quinn did at the same age, the important thing is there is a resurgence of the event, and the competitive action is there.
With the tips gleamed from the likes of Brendan Quinn and Peter McColgan, and highlighting Steeplechase through the narrative of journalism like we are doing here, perhaps like Race-walking, Irish Steeplechasing can see medals at international majors. There is no reason why it cannot.