John Treacy (born 4 June 1957 in
Villierstown,
County Waterford) is an Irish
Olympian and former athlete, now a sporting administrator.
Athletic career
Treacy attended St Anne's Post-Primary School in
Cappoquin
Cappoquin, also spelt Cappaquin or Capaquin (), is a town in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is on the Blackwater river at the junction of the N72 national secondary road and the R669 regional road. It is positioned on a sharp 90-degree b ...
,
County Waterford, Ireland
County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. Waterford City and County Council is the local authority for t ...
, running more than seven miles to school every morning. He graduated from
Providence College in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. In
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
and
1979 he won the
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...
in
Glasgow, Scotland
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and
Limerick, Ireland
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 c ...
respectively.
At the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
in Los Angeles he won a silver medal in the
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
, placing Ireland 33rd on the
medals table.
Treacy was known as a tenacious runner who did not have an especially sharp final
kick
A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...
in track races. In the 1978 European Athletics Championships in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, he placed 11th in the fast 10,000-metre race and fourth in the slow and tactical 5,000-metre race, losing to Italy's
Venanzio Ortis
Venanzio Ortis (born 29 January 1955) is an Italian retired long-distance runner who won two medals at the 1978 European Championships.
Biography
Ortis was born in Paluzza, province of Udine. He started racing in 1969 (for a period he also pra ...
by just three tenths of a second. In the 5,000-metre final, he lingered behind Great Britain's
Nick Rose on the final back straight just after Rose had dropped from the lead group.
["The European Athletics Championships 1978" / Yleisurheilun EM-kisat 1978, written by the "Runner" / Juoksija magazine's journalists and published in Finland in 1978]
![John Treacy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/John_Treacy.png)
In the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Treacy collapsed in his 10,000-metre heat with only 200 metres left, a victim of heat paralysis and dehydration. Because Treacy had been running in fourth place when he collapsed and because only the top four runners qualified directly for the final from the three heats, his collapse allowed Finnish four-time Olympic champion
Lasse Virén, who had been trailing him, to qualify directly for the final. Having recovered from his heat-induced collapse, Treacy placed seventh in the 5,000-metre final of those Olympics.
In the 1983 World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Treacy was eliminated in the 10,000-metre heats.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he placed ninth in the 10,000-metre final before crowning his athletics career with a silver medal in the men's marathon. Winner
Carlos Lopes
Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH (, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner.
He won the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming Portugal's first Olympic gold medalist and setting an Olympic ...
of Portugal was largely unchallenged for much of the race, with Treacy down the field until entering the top six around the 20-kilometre mark. Treacy continued to work his way up the rankings until entering the
Los Angeles Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
stadium just behind second-placed British athlete
Charlie Spedding
Charles Spedding (born 19 May 1952 in Bishop Auckland, County Durham) is an English former long-distance runner.
Athletics career
Spedding was fourth in the 10,000 metres representing England, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensl ...
. Treacy overtook Spedding with 150m to go, during which the Irish television commentary of
Jimmy Magee
Jimmy Magee (31 January 1935 – 20 September 2017) was an Irish sports broadcaster, known as The Memory Man, he spent over half a century in sports broadcasting, and presented radio and television coverage of the Olympic Games since 1968 and the ...
listed the previous Irish Olympic medal winners up to that time, before culminating: "And for the 13th time, an Olympic medal goes to John Treacy from Villierstown in Waterford, the little man with the big heart."
After the Los Angeles Olympics, Treacy ran competitively until 1995, retiring following a road race held in his honour in Waterford, attended by the other two medalists from the 1984 Olympic marathon,
Carlos Lopes
Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH (, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner.
He won the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming Portugal's first Olympic gold medalist and setting an Olympic ...
and
Charlie Spedding
Charles Spedding (born 19 May 1952 in Bishop Auckland, County Durham) is an English former long-distance runner.
Athletics career
Spedding was fourth in the 10,000 metres representing England, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensl ...
. While he did not win any more major international championships medals, Treacy did win the 1992
Los Angeles Marathon
The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...
. At the 1986 European Athletics Championships in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, he placed sixth in the 10,000-metre race. In the 1987 World Athletics Championships in Rome, he placed twenty-sixth in the 10,000-metre race and thirteenth in the 5,000-metre final.
["The World Athletics Championships 1987" / Yleisurheilun MM-kisat 1987, written by the "Runner" / Juoksija magazine's journalists and published in Finland in 1987] He failed to finish the marathon at the
1988 Seoul Olympics and placed 51st in his final Olympic games in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in 1992. He won the 1993
Dublin Marathon
The Dublin Marathon is an annual 26.2 mile (42.2 km) road marathon in Dublin, Ireland, held on the last Sunday in October. Prior to 2016, the race took place on the last Monday in October, which is a public holiday in Ireland. Held each yea ...
.
Post-running career
Treacy is currently chief executive of the
Irish Sports Council
Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...
. He is married to Fionnuala and they have four children: Caoimhe, Deirdre, Sean, and Conor.
International competitions
See also
*
Ireland at the 1984 Summer Olympics
*
1984 in athletics (track and field)
References
*
External links
*
*
John Treacy interview*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treacy, John
1957 births
Sportspeople from County Waterford
Irish male long-distance runners
Irish male marathon runners
World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners
World Athletics Championships athletes for Ireland
Olympic athletes of Ireland
Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for Ireland
Providence College alumni
Sport Ireland officials
Living people